Exchange on current transport issues with US delegation from Minnesota

The US state of Minnesota and North Rhine-Westphalia are further expanding their cooperation and collaboration on environmental and transport issues. On 28 May, NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer and his counterpart from the US state of Minnesota, Nancy Daubenberger, signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” in Düsseldorf to exchange information on current transport issues.

Minister Krischer: “Minnesota and North Rhine-Westphalia have been exchanging ideas on environmental issues for years. I am delighted that we can now extend this successful transatlantic cooperation to the transport sector.“

Minister Daubenberger will be visiting North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 to 29 May with a high-calibre delegation of transport experts from Minnesota. On Monday, 27 May, the focus will be on road and bridge infrastructure rehabilitation projects in the Rhineland. Minnesota faces the same challenges here as NRW. A visit to the Aldenhoven Testing Center (ATC) for autonomous and connected driving is on the agenda for the afternoon of 27 May. On Wednesday, 29 May, the delegation will visit Münster and find out about issues such as urban cycling and the use of recycled products in road construction.

The Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport (MUNV) has maintained a close professional exchange with the Minnesota Department of the Environment since 2013. On the occasion of the celebration of 10 years of successful cooperation in the environmental sector in June 2023, Minister Krischer (MUNV) and the Minnesota Secretary of Transportation, Nancy Daubenberger, decided to extend the cooperation to the transport sector.

The partners in this declaration are to be the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia on the one hand and the Minnesota Department of Transportation on the other. The purpose of this Joint Declaration of Intent is to deepen cooperation and mutual exchange in the transport sector for the period 2024 to 2028 on the basis of equality and mutual benefit – and to “formally” confirm this goal through the Joint Declaration.

Both sides intend to continue developing the contact that has already been established in some areas, to strengthen mutual understanding and friendship between the people of Minnesota and North Rhine-Westphalia through various forms of cooperation and to develop and implement strategies and measures for the areas of “air transport, road infrastructure and mobility”. Virtual formats such as video and telephone conferences are to be used extensively for the specific exchange of expertise. This type of exchange has already proven its worth in recent years in cooperation on environmental issues.