The “Dedication to Roads of the Future” pledge was signed on 7 June by all regional transport ministers at the Western Balkans Road Summit held in Tirana. The summit was organised by the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania. It gathered ministers from the Western Balkans, representatives of the European Commission, and road sector practitioners for discussions on how to create a climate-resilient, intelligent, and resource-efficient road network in the Western Balkans.

Development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) extension to the Western Balkans was recognised as a key priority and the authorities committed to a number of others, including putting in place road maintenance systems, renovating existing infrastructure, working together on e-tolling interoperability, increasing safety, and building e-charging stations across the region. Exploiting the opportunities offered by digitalisation and innovation to attract young people and women to the sector and to improve services for businesses and people is also one of the priorities.

Road Summit participants expressed their commitment to social justice in the road sector, by focusing on workers’ fundamental rights and a healthy and safe working environment. Promoting a more inclusive, diverse and gender-balanced road sector will attract young people and offer better services for businesses and the general public.