2. The Chair of the World Forum welcomed the representatives to the World Forum and introduced the opening speaker, Mr. G. Georgiadis, Secretary of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC).

3. The ITC Secretary welcomed participants to the World Forum. He introduced the proposal for a new ITC strategy for sustainable mobility (informal document WP.29-175-26). He reported that the ITC strategy was based on the ministerial resolution (ECE/TRANS/2017/2) established at the seventieth anniversary of ITC and was discussed during its eightieth session, in February 2018. He added that, following a consultation process involving all ITC Working Parties, the ITC strategy would be submitted for adoption at the eighty-first ITC session in 2019.

4. Mr. Georgiadis presented the key changes for the new United Nations budget system as of 2020, which is discontinuous from the previous framework, both in the process and in the content. He underlined important changes through the implementation of new indicators for measuring success that will have a considerable impact on the amount of deliverables.

5. He highlighted the importance of taking actions at the ECE level that would more align its activities to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by defining nexus areas of sustainable mobility and smart connectivity, sustainable use of natural resources, and the development of a new urban agenda.

6. The Chair of the World Forum further emphasized the importance of prioritizing the activities on vehicle automation, which required the dedicated attention from the World Forum.