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15th-16th May 2015 - Presentation of the “METRO of the METR” during the Turin International Book Fair: White Book on the future of mobility in the METR Region, including the strategy for a new dialogue between Europe and Asia facilitated by the railways.

A “Forum of the Cities” along the Eurasian corridor in order to support the New Railway Silk Route projects

Turin, 21st May 2015 - Over two days at the Book Fair in Turin MIR presented an update on the tangible progress which has been made within the framework of the New Railway Silk Route: the MIR Initiative, an association which brings together stakeholders, experts from various disciplines and internationally renowned intellectuals engaged in the creation of the new high-speed Eurasian link, two events that have now launched the process of promotion and engagement for the construction of the Metro of the METR Region - the Middle East, Europe, Turkey, Russia were brought to the Turin International Book Fair.

The first event, on Friday 15th May, was a press conference organized under the auspices of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers together with the City of Turin to present to the media the projects, opportunities and prospects associated with the Metro of the METR. It was attended by Piero Fassino, Mayor of Turin; Ernest Sultanov, Coordinator of the MIR Initiative; Mario Virano, General Manager of Telt Euralpin Tunnel Lyon Turin; Wu Limin, Director of International Business Development at CREEC - China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, and via video conference, Igor Ivanov, Chairman of the Russian Council for International Affairs. The major Italian newspapers, online magazine and press agencies were present, interested in learning more about the Eurasian Metro project , which was illustrated by a presentation from the Coordinator of the MIR Initiative Ernest Sultanov and the General Manager of Telt Euralpin Tunnel Lyon Turin Mario Virano. A special plaudit went to "Metro of the METR: White Paper on the future of mobility in the METR Region", which was unveiled for the first time, with copies provided to the journalists. There was also significant interest in the "New Railway Silk Route City Forum", promoted by the Mayor of Turin, Piero Fassino, the purpose of which is to create the necessary political-cultural conditions to allow operational projects to take-off in the near future, be that development in the South of the Mediterranean corridor or development in the North, around the line connecting China, Kazakhstan and Russia on the one hand and Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany on the other.

Taking the cities as its starting point, the creation of a new high-speed Metro will connect the territories in a new Eurasian platform of transport and political, social, economic and cultural dialogue. The Turin Book Fair was the setting for the announcement of the many important projects of the New Railway Silk Route, the proposal to create a high speed connection between countries from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with a planning horizon between now and 2040. The public discussion continued on Saturday 16th, during the round table 'A new "Silk Road" that goes from Turin', which was attended by Piero Fassino, Mayor of Turin; Ernest Sultanov, Coordinator of the MIR Initiative; Mario Virano, General Manager of Telt Euralpin Tunnel Lyon Turin; Wu Limin, Director of International Business Development at CREEC - China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group; Jan Harder, President of the Steering Committee of the MIR Initiative and, by video conference, Igor Ivanov, Chairman of the Russian Council for International Affairs. There were more than 200 spectators, including representatives of the main trade associations, the business community, institutions, stakeholders of the project, journalists and naturally, members of the public attending the Book Fair.

It was clear from these two meetings that, in big picture terms, the cornerstones of the New Railway Silk Route are already in place: in the west, the trans-European transport networks known as TEN-T, which are in the advanced stages of construction (the Mediterranean Corridor Turin-Lyon and the Corridor Rhin Alpes San Gottardo), including the Italian sections, and in the east, the milestone represented by the Memorandum of Understanding between China and Russia signed on May 8 for the construction of the high speed railway between Moscow and Kazan in Russian Tatarstan – pilot project for the future line between Moscow and Beijing – with an investment of at least 20 billion Euro.

The projects making up the New Railway Silk Route will directly affect the METR Region - Middle East, Europe, Turkey, Russia. This is a crucial area, where the cultural and commercial exchanges of the past have played a significant part in shapingour the modern world. Today the area is going through a delicate period from a social, political and economic point of view: a shared strategy for the creation of supra-national infrastructure and network mobility has been developed in the process of stabilization of the region, - a railway project with high speed/high capacity that connects all the countries of METR with routes already in place and under development in Europe and Asia.

In Europe, the nine priority corridors of the TEN-T create a sort of big Continental Metro for passengers, a Euro-Metro whose stations are the cities of the old continent and which allows for an unprecedented system for the exchange of trade and knowledge, and the movement of people and ideas. The concept of "Metro" is very important, because it allows the emphasis to be on the interdependence of the METR region.

Within the framework of this transcontinental approach, Turin aims to be a point of reference to facilitate support for the project and the interests of stakeholders and investors. Starting in Turin, a call to action goes out to the mayors of the major cities in the METR region, including Seville, Lyon, Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, Istanbul, Kazan, Moscow and Astana, to engage in and support the process and the signing of the Turin Charter, promoted and sent by Mayor Piero Fassino to his counterparts in those Eurasian cities. "In a globalized world, the city is still a landmark and today, along with the heritage it represents, it is rediscovering its fundamental role as a symbol of territories and guarantors of the community" said Fassino. "It's up to cities to build their future as protagonists taking a leading role in developing policies and attracting investment by promoting projects such as the one presented here today in Turin, imagining new scenarios for the future of transport and facilitating mobility of people and goods, with a view to facilitating exchange between peoples". The response to Fassino’s solicitation has been immediate and positive: indeed, the Charter of Turin has already been shared with 20 mayors. For this reason Turin aims to create a "Forum of the Cities of the New Railway Silk Road" in order to create the necessary political and cultural conditions to allow operational projects to take-off in the near future, such as the projected development of the high speed link "Moscow - Minsk - Warsaw - Berlin".

The launch of this process relies on the organizational platform of the "MIR Initiative", which includes those key figures in the process, experts from various disciplines and internationally renowned intellectuals. The strategic vision for the whole process is collated in "Metro of the METR, the White Book on the future of mobility in the METR Region", presented at the Book Fair by Ernest Sultanov, Coordinator of the MIR Initiative. "By its nature - creating mobility at all levels, the Silk Route is the lifeblood of many peoples and countries.

Today, high-speed rail can play a key role in creating confidence and opening up perspective, allowing solutions to the economic, political and social crisis to be found. In fact, without transport and social mobility, the differences in society can turn into antagonism and conflict." stated Sultanov. "By contrast, transport networks facilitate the development of trade, the exchange of ideas and the mobility of people. In this context, the METRO represents a strategic perspective for integration between all stations - cities and lines of the Middle East, Europe, Turkey and Russia, which are part of the METR Region."

“The European network TEN-T, which is scheduled for completion by 2030" highlighted Mario Virano, General Manager of Telt Euralpin Tunnel Lyon Turin "has nine corridors, of which seven are based on historic north-south routes, that is, along the lines of the past where development has consolidated after the war; then there are the two east-west corridors, which represent the future, with the Mediterranean Corridor running between the Iberian Peninsula and Eastern Europe through the Po river valley. The White Book "METRO of the METR", with its presentation of the ongoing work being done to realize the New Railway Silk Road, shows that this east-west road will be one our greatest opportunities in the coming years, creating a high speed and high capacity overland connection between the the Atlantic and the Pacific. After almost seven hundred years Marco Polo’s ideas are topical again - but- this time the Silk Route starts from Turin, realizing his vision of cultural exchanges and exports of goods and services on a global scale".

The White Book is composed of 28 influential contributions on the future development of mobility and communication in the macro-region METR. Signatures include prominent figures from construction companies (Comsa, Acciona, CREEC), railways (RZD - Russian Railways, FS - State Railways, SNCF - Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais, ADIF - Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias), industries (Finmeccanica, Siemens, Alstom), financial institutions (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), intergovernmental institutions (UIC - International Union of Railways), environmentalists (IENE - Infra Eco Network Europe) and consulting firms (Bain & Co, AT Kearney). The introduction has been prepared by Igor Ivanov, Chairman of the Russian Council for International Affairs and former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Piero Fassino, Mayor of the City of Turin and President of ANCI –[National Association of Italian Municipalities]; Azer Mursaliev, Director of Kommersant, the largest publishing house in Moscow and Ernest Sultanov, Coordinator of the MIR Initiative. Among the authors Mario Virano, General Manager of Telt Euralpin Tunnel Lyon Turin; Giuseppe Sciarrone, Co-founder of NTV SpA; Mauro Moretti, CEO Finmeccanica S.p.A. ; Mamuka Bakhtadze (Georgia), General Director of Georgian Railway AO; Luis Castilla (Spain), CEO of Acciona Infrastructure; Jochen Eickholt (Germany), Rail Systems CEO at Siemens AG; Jan Harder (Switzerland), Vice-President Molinari Rail AG; Alexander Misharin (Russia), First Vice President of JSC Russian Railways; Guillaume Pepy (France), Chairman of SNCF - Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais; Yury Spektorov (Russia), Chairman of the Board of Bain & Company CIS; Niko Warbanoff (Germany), Head of International Business Development at Deutsche Bahn AG; Ying Zhu (China), Director General of CREEC China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd.

The next meeting will take place in June in St. Petersburg, with the first “Forum of the Cities”.