This is the key subject of VI Ministerial Meeting of the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative (WHTI), to be held on August 25th and 26th, at the Hotel Casa Grande Resort & Spa, Guarujá (SP/Brazil). Please find below more information about the program.

August 24, Wednesday

07:30 p.m. Welcoming Reception Cocktail and Dinner



August 25, Thursday

09:30 – 10:00 a.m. Registration for the Ministerial Meeting

10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Opening Session:

Alfredo Nascimento, Minister of Transport, Brazil

Geraldo Alckmin, Governor of the State of São Paulo

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil (to be confirmed)

11:00 – 11:30 a.m. Coffee break / Press Conference

11:30 – 11:45 a.m. Chair of the Meeting: Brazil

Co-Chairs: Costa Rica and the United States

Introduction by the Minister of Transport, Brazil, Alfredo Nascimento

11:45 – 12:00 a.m. Report on the WHTI activities:

Francisco Luiz Baptista da Costa, Chair of the Executive Committee

12:00 – 02:00 p.m. Luncheon offered by Brazil



02:00 – 02:45 p.m. Exposition 1:

Financing of Transport Infrastructure Key speaker:

Alfredo Nascimento, Minister of Transport, Brazil

Comments / Debates by member countries and international organizations

02:45 – 03:30 p.m. Exposition 2:

Feeder Roads and Communitarian Participation Key speakers:

Randall Quirós Bustamante, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Costa Rica; José Ortiz Rivera, Minister of Transport and e Communications, Peru; and Carlos Trujillo, Specialist in Infrastructure, IADB

Comments / Debates by member countries and international organizations

03:30 – 03:45 p.m. Coffee break

03:45 – 04:30 p.m. Exposition 3:

Intermodalism

Key Speaker:

Carlos López Bravo, Coordinator of Transport Programs and Projects, Department of Communications and Transport, Mexico

Comments / Debates by member countries and international organizations

04:30 – 05:15 p.m. Exposition 4:

Air Transport Safety and Security

Road Transport Safety and Security

Key Speaker:

United States of America (names to be confirmed)

Comments / Debates by member countries and international organizations

05:15 – 05:20 p.m. Closure of the First Day Session

08:00 p.m. Dinner offered by Brazil

August 26, Friday

09:30 – 10:15 a.m. Exposition 5:

Maritime and Port Safety and Security

Key Speaker:

Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Transport and Works,

Jamaica

Comments / Debates by member countries and international organizations

10:15 – 11:00 a.m. Special Presentation:

Use of Alternative Fuel in Land Transportation

Key Speaker:

Ricardo Borges Gomide, Coordinator-General, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Brazil

Comments / Debates by member countries and international organizations

11:00 – 11:15 a.m. Coffee break

11:15 – 12:00 a.m. Special Presentation:

Making Infrastructure Works for Poor

Key Speaker:

Marianne Fay, Economist Leader, Department of Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure, The World Bank

Comments / Debates by member countries and international organizations

12:00 – 02:00 p.m. Luncheon offered by Brazil

02:00 – 02:30 p.m. Election of the Chair and Co-Chairs of the Executive Committee

02:30 – 03:30 p.m. Joint Ministerial Statement:

Review and Final Text

03:30 – 04:00 p.m. Press Conference

08:00 p.m. Closure Cocktail and Dinner offered by Brazil