2. The Chair of WP.29, Mr. A. Erario (Italy) welcomed delegates to the 197th session of WP.29 and opened the meeting.

3. Mr. H. Kubota, Director-General for Engineering Affairs, Logistics and Road Transport Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan, delivered a keynote statement in which he highlighted the history of Japan’s participation in the work of WP.29 since late 1970’s and accession to the 1958 and 1998 Agreements in 1998 as the first non-European country. He highlighted the importance of WP.29 in harmonizing safety and environmental regulations worldwide, reaching out to countries in Asia and other regions, and pointed out the commitment of Japan to make WP.29 a truly global platform. In this context, he supported the recent GRVA meetings outside Geneva and proposed hosting a WP.29 session in Japan. He stressed the active role of Japan in WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies. He recalled a Vice-Chair position currently held by the Japanese representative and pointed out the interest of Japan in taking up chairmanships in the future.

4. The representatives of Australia, Canada, China, Germany, United States of America, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, EU, CLEPA/MEMA/JAPIA, ETRTO and OICA welcomed Mr. Kubota’s statement, appreciated Japan’s commitment to the global nature of WP.29 and recognized long-standing contributions of Japan to its activities.

5. Mr. D. Mariyasin, Deputy Executive Secretary, ECE and Acting Director, Sustainable Transport Division, informed WP.29 about the ongoing liquidity crisis within the United Nations system because of which the vacant posts in the WP.29 secretariat remained vacant and non-post expenditures, including travel, were cut. He also updated on Pillar I of the UN80 Initiative which focused on enhancing operational efficiency through cost reduction and process streamlining. In the framework of this Pillar, UN entities had been requested to provide revised budget estimates for 2026. Following the request, UNECE had proposed 28 positions for abolishment, including the P3 post in the WP.29 secretariat dealing with GRSP. Mr. D. Mariyasin informed that the final decision belonged to the UN Member States in the Fifth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, including as regards the abolishment of specific posts. He stated that should the final decision be to abolish the P3 post, this would reduce the ability of the WP.29 secretariat to service WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies. Separately, he also mentioned that a 13 per cent cut in the meetings and documentation may be expected in the Programme Plan and Budget for 2027, on top of already existing reductions due to the liquidity crisis.