Greetings - Thomas J. Donohue

Greetings to the Participants in the Caravan Beijing-Berlin-Brussels

Thomas J. Donohue President, US Chamber of Commerce

"American business has a huge stake in your success"

I would like to congratulate the International Road Transport Union on its continuous efforts to promote road transport development worldwide, especially between Europe and Asia. Road transportation issues are near to my heart. Before joining the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, I spent 13 years as the President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, the national organization of the trucking industry. And, if anyone knows the importance of efficient and safe road transport, truckers do.

During the last decade, the fast growing economies of China, India, Turkey and other countries have made remarkable achievements. Growing economies depend on efficient transportation networks to move goods, services and people when and where they must go. Just-in-time inventories and deliveries are meaningless if businesses can't rely on parts and products when needed. In the U.S., federal highways generate more than $64 billion in economic growth each year and almost 75 percent of the goods shipped in the U.S. are transported by trucks over the nation's highways.

With the emergence of new market-friendly economies after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the opening of national borders, and the destruction of many political and administrative barriers in this part of the world, you have now a historic opportunity to reestablish the famous Silk Road, once connecting Indo-China with Europe. Together with the IRU, the U.S. Chamber has been promoting the revival of this badly needed linkage because thousands of our companies are invested in Europe and Asia. American business has a huge stake in your success. The modern Silk Road, fast and secure, will connect these huge markets and add to the prosperity of all countries in between.

I applaud your goals and wish the greatest success to those who, on September 27, will begin a historic Caravan? - opening a new chapter in Euro-Asian trade.