Welcome Messages 

Welcome
On behalf of the Swiss Federal Government I would like to welcome the delegates and guests from all over the World to this year's FIATA World Congress in Geneva.

Freight Forwarding, especially rail transport, has always played a major part in overall Swiss transport policy. Switzerland's goal has been for some year's now to reduce heavy lorry traffic and to transfer freight crossing the Alps from road to rail. Several measures have been introduced to achieve this goal and to counteract the rapidly growing road transport of Europe, thereby reducing freight congestion costs.

The world economy has been slowing down for some month now, affecting the entire globe. The transport industry is no exception. Ever increasing economic, geographical and political challenges are to be faced by the transport industry.

What better place therefore, than a world freight Congress to work towards a plan for the future? FIATA World Congress is certainly a very good opportunity for all of us to find ways to further improve world freight and together find environmental friendly solutions.

Please accept my best wishes for a successful Congress 2009.

MORITZ LEUENBERGER
Federal Councillor
Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications

Trust the future
On behalf of the Government of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the FIATA 2009 World Congress.

Geneva, more than any other region of the world, is well aware of the significant role played by freight, transport and trade for any social, cultural and economic development. It is therefore not surprising that, already in the 13th and 14th centuries, the ambition to make Geneva a commercial platform of major importance prompted our citizens to take over their first democratic prerogatives from the Bishop who was ruling the town at that time.

Geneva's territory is very limited. Therefore, to maintain and expand its wealth, the canton always knew that it could not rely solely on its own products, and that it had to develop its capacity to attract major leaders of world commerce.

World economy has been slowing down a great deal for the last months. The recession is due to the loss of confidence in the financial market and has been worsened by the protectionist tendencies all around the world. Headquarters to the WTO and to many UN organizations, Geneva has been and still is able to testify that there is no social progress without prosperity and no democracy without economic development. Last but not least, that trade has always been the most pacific way to bring about dialogue even between the most distant people and countries.

FIATA has a consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in Geneva. In this context, I wish that Geneva proves to you all to be an ideal meeting place for enriching exchanges. Your industry has contributed to a great extent to economical and social development.
May Geneva also help you to defy the challenge set by the need
to protect the environment.

FRANÇOIS LONGCHAMP
State Councillor

Welcome
Bienvenue
Willkommen
It is a great honour for Geneva to host the FIATA 2009 World Congress.

The City of Geneva wishes to extend a very warm welcome to all the participants of this event.

We are especially pleased to welcome Freight Forwarders from all over the world to our City, which by tradition is a centre for commerce for the service industry but also, and more importantly, for trade.

We therefore sincerely hope that you will have the opportunity to discover and enjoy this internationally renowned site, set between lake and mountain, enjoying easy access and offering a wide choice of activities to visitors.

Again, welcome to Geneva and may you have an enjoyable stay in our City.

PIERRE MAUDET
Administrative Councillor City of Geneva

Willkommen Bienvenue
Benvenuto Bainvegni Welcome
On behalf of FIATA, I look forward to welcoming delegates from around the world to our 2009 World Congress in Geneva. It has been 26 years since FIATA held a World Congress in Switzerland, and Geneva being the home to many international organizations makes an ideal setting for the global forwarding community to meet.

My involvement with the Air Freight Institute has brought me to Geneva many times in the last 15 years, and I have always found it to be a friendly city and very international. It hosts some 25 international organizations, 200 non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and 150 permanent missions to the United Nations.

Geneva holds a privileged geographical position, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, between the Alps and the Jura mountains, it is at the central cross-roads of Western Europe. Geneva is a town of Arts and Culture, its numerous museums, exhibitions and libraries are all in easy reach with public transport and our delegates will enjoy free access to Geneva's public transport for the duration of the Congress.

Certainly one of the highlights of this years Congress will be its Main Forum entitled "Emergency Case; How Are International Organizations Acting". High ranking representatives from the International Red Cross, the United Nations Headquarters for Refuges and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, shall discuss the logistics challenges faced when mobilizing relief supplies to combat human suffering brought on by both natural and man made disasters, Presentations will be followed by an interactive Question and Answer session.

Our Congress provides FIATA members a venue to discuss a multitude of topics focused on the many facets of our industry both global and regional. Issues percolate from the various regional meetings to the relevant technical bodies of FIATA for broader dialogue. The need for a strong central organization to represent freight forwarders and to deal with the global issues facing our industry was never more important than it is today. We can take great pride in the progress that FIATA has made in this regard and the Congress also allows FIATA to foster and maintain regular contact with many regional governmental and nongovernmental organizations, such as UN-ESCAP, UN-ECE, UNCTAD, and our global counterparts, including WCO, WTO, IATA and IRU.

So please mark your calendars to be in Geneva this September 21 to 25th, and take the opportunity to gain a better insight into the challenges our dynamic industry faces, to share thoughts and ideas with your confreres, and meet with current and potential business partners to develop new business relationships and gain a more competitive edge.

Looking forward to seeing you in Geneva!

WILLIAM M. GOTTLIEB
President
FIATA
International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations

Welcome
Bienvenue
Willkommen
On behalf of the Geneva Forwarder Association (ATG), co-organizer of the FIATA 2009 World Congress, and of Spedlogswiss, our National Forwarders Association, it gives me great pleasure to invite you, forwarders from all over the world, to the FIATA 2009 World Congress.

You will find in our congress brochure a brief outline of things to come. As in the past, the exciting, highly informative Working Programme covers a wide range of international forwarding trade topics. It is complemented by a rich Social Programme that will allow you to discover Geneva, international city in the heart of Europe and its surrounding.

Geneva, renowned for its cultural and recreational activities, will not fail to seduce you. Its old city, the famed "jet d'eau" by the lake, the "jardin anglais", other Lake Towns of consequence such as Lausanne and Evian, but also Chamonix towered over by the impressive Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, are all worth a visit and should be seen. Take advantage of this opportunity!!!

I am looking forward to meeting you all personally this coming September to share professional experience and, of course, some Swiss wine and cheese with you.

Once again, welcome to Geneva and see you in September.

Yours truly.

GÉRARD DUCHESNE
President ATG