As President of FIATA, it is my distinct pleasure to extend an invitation to each of you to participate in the upcoming FIATA World Congress in October.

This year’s Congress promises to be special, as the magnificent city of Istanbul serves as our host. The city itself spans two continents and has played an integral role in the history of trade. For millennia, Istanbul has served as the trading point at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, which today represents half of all world trade. This is the ideal place for our industry, as the facilitators of trade, to gather and discuss the future while reflecting on the past.

However, Istanbul does not simply live in the past. Presently, the Turkish economy is growing strongly and is a key driver of growth for Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. One must only look to the growing role and global market share of the Turkish logistics and transportation industry, Turkish Airlines springs to mind, to see evidence of this. This also manifests itself in the proactive role that UTIKAD has played in FIATA in recent years.

We are preparing an exciting Congress for you and you can look forward to a very interesting agenda including: several new FIATA projects will be presented to the industry; updates from the various Institutes, Advisory Bodies, and Working Groups; and guest speakers that will enrich our knowledge of trends in different areas of interest to our industry.

So my friends and colleagues, I extended to you again the invitation to register and participate in the 2014 FIATA World Congress. I look forward to welcoming you in Istanbul.

Sincerely,

Francesco Parisi
FIATA President

Source: FIATA