Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari visited the Swedish automotive safety supplier ‘Autoliv' in Stockholm. The minister presented a copy of the report on ‘Road Safety in India' to company representative and took note of the recent products and innovations of the company. Autoliv is the world's largest automotive safety equipment supplier, with sales to all major car manufacturers in the world.
Road safety is a major concern in India. The country has committed to safety, efficiency and sustainability in the transport sector. The problem of safety is also linked to social equity in India. With a large population of pedestrians, cyclists and motorised two-wheelers competing for space on roads, the road safety needs for these vulnerable sections has to be kept in mind while designing and developing transport strategies.
The Minister later visited E-highway Test-bed Demonstration site in Sweden. Government of India has already announced E-highways. During the visit, he was informed about the recent technological developments in the sector achieved by Sweden.
The Minister is in Sweden to represent India at the "3rd High Level Global Conference on Road Safety for Achieving Global Goals 2030" being held in Stockholm during 19th and 20th of February, 2020. The objective of the two-day conference is to bring road safety on the global agenda and renew the world community's commitment to safer roads. Leaders from participating countries will draw up a road-map for reaching the United Nation's goal set under the UN Decade of Action of reducing road crashes by 2030.
During his stay in Stockholm, Gadkari will have bilateral dialogue with his Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth, Minister for Foreign Trade Anna Hallberg, Minister for Business, Industry & Innovation Ibrahim Baylan and also with the British Minister for Road Safety Baroness Vere. Gadkari will also hold talks with the World Bank Vice President (South Asia) Hart Schafer. A Sweden-India Transportation Safety and Innovation Partnership meeting will also be part of the it. Swedish and Indian businesses are likely to exchange several MOUs on the occasions.