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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Second Danube Summit opens

Belgrade, 13 October 2004

Serbian Minister of Capital Investment Velimir Ilic said today that a quarter of all goods transported should be transferred to river transport in a move that would relieve the burden on road and railway transport as well as reduce air pollution.

Velimir Ilic

Author: Fonet

Addressing the second Danube Summit, currently underway in Belgrade, Ilic pointed to the necessity of investing in river transport, whose development was halted during the 1999 bombing. He said that it is necessary to connect river transport with road and railway transport.

Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek said that the Danube is the river connecting the cultures and peoples of Europe and the region. He said that in the late 1980s, transport of goods on the Danube amounted to 91.7 million tonnes, whilst 2002 traffic reached only 34.8 million tonnes. This reduction, he noted, calls for taking concrete steps towards increased usability of this waterway.

The three-day conference is also being attended by Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Minister of Transport and Communications Branko Dokic, Russian Assistant Minister of Foreign Relations Boris Medvedev, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Viktor Lindisev, as well as delegations from Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Austria and Hungary.

The conference will address the waterway development strategy, technological initiatives in transport, logistics and connection of ports in South Eastern Europe.