On April 29, at 13:00, the Valdai Club will hold an online discussion, titled “International Logistics in Closed Borders”.

       The coronavirus epidemic has created critical conditions for the transport industry. Quarantine measures, the severity of which varies from country to country, have given rise to forecasts of the impact of a sharp slowdown in international transit activity and the supply of goods. Difficulties in the transport of goods have increased the demand for a strengthening of supply chains by diversifying and increasing stocks of products in warehouses. Additional sanitary and epidemiological checks on transport may well become the new global norm after the pandemic.

       Challenges have also arisen in the field of passenger transportation and tourism. In a number of countries, an initiative has already appeared to introduce so-called “immunity passports”, which could confirm that a person is safe for others.

       Will the sharp reduction in air transportation provide a template for the dynamics of sea and land transport in the future? What impact did the pandemic have and what could it have on international logistics? How will the sharp drop in passenger traffic affect transport companies? What measures should be taken for the stable operation of supply chains and nodes? Does the situation affect food security? Participants of the expert discussion will answer these and other questions.

       Speakers:

       Rafael Schvartzman, Vice President of the International Air Transport Association in Europe;

       Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Centre for Analysis and International Relations

       German Maslov, Executive Director of FESCO Integrated Transport LLC

       Alexey Bezborodov, General Director, Infranews Research Agency

       Michele Acciaro, Director of Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics (CSGL), Associate Professor of Maritime Logistics, Kühne Logistics University (KLU)

       Moderator:

       Andrey Sushentsov, Programme Director, Valdai Discussion Club

       Working languages: Russian, English.

       Attention to the media!

       You can participate remotely with prior accreditation. To do this, you need to fill out the accreditation form on our website and indicate your personal mobile number with the WhatsApp application installed.

       For readers:

       A link to the live broadcast of the meeting will be posted on all social media of the Valdai Club, including Telegram, Facebook, Vkontakte, Twitter, Instagram. In addition, you can follow the discussion in our Telegram channel: a text broadcast will be available.

       You can ask the speakers a question by sending it before the broadcast or live to [email protected], on WhatsApp to the number: +79269307763 or by sending it in a personal message to one of our social media.

       Be sure to include your name and position, as well as the name of the speaker to whom the question is addressed. Questions will be asked during the Q&A session.