H.E. Dr. Engineer Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ headed the Qatari delegation in the 3^rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held on 19&20 February 2020 at Stockholm, the Kingdom of Sweden.

His Majesty the King of Sweden inaugurated the conference. Many dignitaries including honorable ministers from various countries, representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Ambassador of Road Safety in the world attended this global event.

The Qatari delegation headed by H.E. the President of Ashghal also included Eng. Hamad Essa Al-Abdullah Assistant Undersecretary of Land Transport Affairs at the Ministry Transport and Communications,  Brigadier Mohammed Al-Maliki, Secretary of the National Traffic Safety Committee, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani, Director of Public Health Department in the Ministry of Public Health,  Mr. Mohammed Saad Al-Meghaiseeb, Manager of the President’s Office Manager at Ashghal, and Major Ali Hamad Al-Marri from the Traffic Investigations Section of the Traffic Department and Mr. Mohammed Al Khatheeri from the Traffic Safety Section of the Traffic Department.

H.E. Ashghal President participated in the workshop on "Reaping the Benefits of Safe Speed". The conference also had several other seminars and papers covering various topics related to road safety and sustainable transport. Themes of seminar included the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, requirements for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2020, importance of building road safety leaderships, building sustainable secure transport sector, and discussion on the United Nations SGD goals for road safety 2020-2030, which were linked for the first time to the challenges of sustainable development goals in the world. In addition, two panel discussions were held on improving global cooperation in the field of road safety, and the methods for achieving global goals of 2030.

Several important meetings were held on the sidelines of the conference where the delegation met with Mr. Thomas Eneroth, Swedish Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, and they discussed the ways of cooperation and exchange of global experiences with the Public Works Authority.

The Qatari delegation also met with Mr. John Dots, United Nations Secretary for Traffic Safety and President of the International Motor Federation. Several important topics were discussed, including the progress made by the State of Qatar in reducing traffic deaths during 2013-2019, and achieving the requirements of the United Nations related to the 2011-2020 contract plan, and the adoption of sustainable development goals and the follow-up of their implementation periodically by the National Committee and the National Traffic Safety Office as well as the United Nations 2030 goals. Qatar agreed to transfer its successful experience to help poor developing countries.

The efforts of Qatar to initiate the 2023-3033 plan for traffic safety management and sustainable transport were discussed, as well as the preparation for the challenges that the country will face after completing the infrastructure projects, and providing the requirements of the increasing demand for traffic.

It is to be mentioned that the State of Qatar is one of the developed countries globally in terms of adopting the UN road safety plans, sustainable development goals, reducing road accident mortality, as Qatar aspires to reach "zero accidents", which is a strategic goal pursued by state institutions. Qatar is also working to reduce traffic congestion, build a sustainable transport sector, and develop urban planning, where the State has set up the National Traffic Safety Committee as a leading institution in the country, which is recognized by the United Nations. Subsequently, the State also formed the National Traffic Safety Office equipped with internationally qualified personnel to enhance the global position of the State of Qatar and to assist 33 entities related to traffic safety in the country in implementing 395 action plans as part of the national strategy and enriching the system for evaluation and follow-up, which enabled them to obtain prestigious international awards for better management of traffic safety and sustainable transport.