The city of Lima, Peru, hosted the Workshop on Freight Transport and Logistics on August 5 and 6, 2014, which was attended by delegates from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay, as well as by representatives of the UNASUR General Secretariat, ECLAC, and members of IIRSA Technical Coordination Committee.

At the meeting, the National Coordinators recognized that freight transport and logistics are an important area of work within the framework of COSIPLAN, and that it is necessary to expand the knowledge on this matter. This conviction derives from the fact that both transportation and logistics in a globalized environment may become either significant obstacles to or drivers of economic development, impacting on economic efficiency, trade, the competitiveness of national and regional production systems, and quality of life.

Officials from government agencies and departments related to freight transportation and logistics presented their experiences in designing and implementing public policies as well as in the advances made and challenges encountered in building a stronger institutional framework in this area.  Furthermore, they agreed in jointly furthering two lines of work:

1. Training Program for Public Sector Officials, with the purpose of strengthening the basic competencies in freight logistics. The program will be presented at the V Ordinary Meeting of COSIPLAN for its incorporation into the Work Plan 2015.

2. Data and Indicators of Freight Transport and Logistics, stressing the importance of improving and updating the information on freight transport and logistics, considering the experiences gathered at the national and regional levels, and defining indicators to measure logistic performance.  

Regional cabotage and the impact of freight transport on greenhouse gas emissions and the contribution of these to climate change were also considered important topics to analyze within the framework of COSIPLAN.