Working visit of François Bausch in the United States: second day

The meeting began with a discussion on the necessity of investing in transport infrastructure while combating climate change. In this context, the discussion focused on the political priorities for competitive transport and mobility planning in both countries, taking into account the current social, environmental and economic challenges. To meet tomorrow's mobility needs, it is essential to modernise and develop infrastructure by improving the quality of services in the transport sector.

Decarbonisation in the transport sector as well as incentive-based policy strategies to reduce CO2 emissions were also discussed during the bilateral meeting. Among other things, the discussions focused on the different energy sources for powering trucks, cars and aircraft. Indeed, both parties believe that sustainable aviation fuel will play a major role for the aviation sector, while electrification represents an interesting energy vector for light and some heavy vehicles. In the context of the "Fit for 55" package, Minister Bausch reopened the discussion about the rapid development of electromobility and its need for a dense charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Minister Bausch explained that Luxembourg now meets the minimum criteria required for Member States to install charging stations at least every 60 km.

The visit to Washington also allowed François Bausch to attend the Transforming Transportation 2023 (TT23) conference, jointly organised by the World Bank and the World Resources Institute (WRI) on the theme of "Accelerating Towards Green and Inclusive Mobility".

Following the various social, economic and environmental factors that continue to disrupt the global transport sector, the TT23 conference considered the current economic scenario and the post-COVID recovery as a starting point for re-imagining transport to make it safer, more inclusive, sustainable and efficient. In this context, Minister Bausch spoke at the roundtable "Resilient Transport: Navigating Climate Change, Conflict, and Disruptions" to re-launch discussions on the planning, design and implementation of resilient transport infrastructure and services, while taking into account unstable circumstances, including conflict situations affected by climate change. Globally, the smartest thing to do is invest in resilient transport modes that promote active mobility and public transport. There cannot be only one solution to become more resilient, you have to look at the whole transport planning", underlined François Bausch at the round table.

On the sidelines of this event, Minister Bausch had a bilateral meeting with Guangzhe Chen, the Vice President for Infrastructure of the World Bank. Topics discussed during the meeting included development projects aimed at providing safe, efficient and inclusive mobility everywhere and for everyone. Luxembourg was interested in cooperating on future investment projects for sustainable transport, which plays a key role in inclusive growth and ultimately in widening access to essential services.

François Bausch, in his capacity as Minister of Defence, met with Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the State Department. The meeting focused on space and cyber cooperation, artificial intelligence and autonomous lethal weapons systems, as well as support for Ukraine. Bonnie Jenkins congratulated the Luxembourg authorities for their prompt response to the Spacety case and for their consistent implementation of sanctions against Russia.

Press release by the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works and the Directorate of Defence