Ousmane Thiam (Senegal) has been confirmed as the new president of the UITP (International Association of Public Transport) executive board, making him the first African president of the association.
Thiam takes over from Alain Flausch, who was selected last September to follow Hans Rat as new Secretary General of UITP early next year.
A civil engineer holding a PhD in Transport Economics, Thiam has been president of the Conseil Exécutif des Transports urbains de Dakar (CETUD), Senegal since 1997. In 2007, he became president of the African Association of Public Transport (UATP), acting as the African Division of UITP.
“I look forward to contributing, together with my colleagues of the Board and the UITP members, to PTx2, UITP’s worldwide strategy for doubling the market share of public transport around the globe” said the new president. “Only when pulling in the same direction, as one team, will we be able to achieve this ambition.”
Commenting on this appointment, Hans Rat said: “With Ousmane Thiam, CETUD successfully launched the initiative of formalising the informal public transport sector, which is a major issue in most developing countries.
Alain Flausch said: “Ousmane Thiam placed UATP on the international scene at the highest level, gaining recognition from organisations and agencies such as the African Union Commission, the European Commission, the World Bank and the United Nations. All these organisations were present at the last African Public Transport Congress in Dakar.
“The unifying personality of Ousmane Thiam is a clear asset for our Association.”
