Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative (WHTI)

The purpose of the WHTI is to provide a forum for convergence and cooperation between the Ministries Responsible for Transportation of the Summit of the Americas countries.

• The Executive Committee has a Chair and up to two co-Chairs.
• The United States of America is one of the Co-Chairs.

The WHTI derives its action program from priority action areas and other directives mutually agreed-upon by the Ministers Responsible for Transportation of the Summit of the Americas countries.

Partnerships with WHTI

At the Western Hemisphere Transportation Ministerial meeting held in December 1998 in New Orleans, transportation ministers signed a Ministerial Declaration, which identified priority action areas for follow-up work.

The United States agreed to take the lead for "Information Exchange on Transportation Technologies".

• The ministers recommended that technology transfer networks such as the Pan American Institute of Highways (PIH) be "used and recognized in each country."
• The Ministers noted the importance of technology transfer networks for their strong institutional link with the national road agencies in the hemisphere.

Additional information on the Summit of the Americas can be found at http://www.summit-americas.org/.