The Executive Committee of the World Road Association (PIARC), the body responsible for administering the Association on delegation from the Council, held its first meeting after its election in September 2016, in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) from 28 February to 1 March 2017.

The event brought together the 22 members of the Committee and its three Vice-Presidents, the representative of the national committees, as well as the President of PIARC, Claude Van Rooten, the Secretary General of the Association, Patrick Malléjacq, and the coordinators and advisers of the different strategic themes.

This meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the objectives of the Association for the period 2017-2020. It reviewed the activities of the technical committees, followed by a presentation by the Commissions (Finance, Communication, Strategic Plan) which assist the Executive Committee in its work. The Secretary General detailed the overall prospects for the new Strategic Plan of the Association, emphasizing that PIARC aims to remain recognized as the leading institution for guidelines, information and advice on roads and transport in the world.

In this sense, Patrick Malléjacq highlighted the vast technical production of quality reference documents which are widely used in the road and transport sectors, as well as the large number of conferences, seminars and workshops organized regularly around the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.