The Association's statutory meetings that we held in Dakar, Senegal, last November, were a landmark event. They were the first face-to-face meeting of our National Committees and Council since 2019, and all participants were delighted to have the opportunity for direct exchange at last. A debate allowed a dozen countries to present how they approach resilience. Real progress was made on issues such as the approval of the list of Committees for the next work cycle (2024-2027), or the best way to deal with inflation.

Informal discussions in the margins were equally fruitful. Each lunch, coffee break or dinner was an opportunity for spontaneous meetings and exchanges between the experts and decision-makers who had come. They were able to compare their practices and situations and share ideas, which is one of the important added values of PIARC. It must be said that the hospitality given to us by Mr Mamoudou Camara, the First Delegate, and his teams and colleagues was particularly efficient and warm, and all the participants agreed to congratulate him. It should be noted that this was the first time in recent memory that the Association held its statutory meetings in a sub-Saharan African country. The experience proved to be very fruitful, and led to the decision to organise an international seminar in Senegal next March, which will be devoted to road asset management.

Among the advances made possible by these "Dakar meetings", we should note the renewal of exchanges with AGEPAR, the Association of African Road Managers and Partners. The members of this regional road association, with which PIARC has developed several technical reports in the past, were present in large numbers from Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Senegal of course. Let's hope that this reunion will lead to new projects in the future.