From 3 to 9 October 1999, the XXIst World Road Congress gathered in Kuala Lumpur close to 2700 delegates from 110 countries, including a large number of developing and transition countries. The success of this Congress indisputably results from the efforts of our Malaysian colleagues, under the leadership of their Minister of Public Works, Honourable Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu, and also from the efforts of PIARC Committee members. Led by their Chairs, they have prepared or proof-read around 8,500 pages of preliminary reports and papers. It is difficult to report in detail on the rich contents of the Congress sessions, which are based on such a large amount of information, and represent about 150 hours of discussions. However, our intention was to include in one document the detailed Conclusions of each session. The Conclusions are preceded here by the General Report of the Congress which was presented by Tan Sri Dato' Ir. Wan, Chairman of the Road Engineering Association of Malaysia (REAM), during the closing ceremony and handed out on the same day to delegates in three languages, English, French and Spanish. The XXIst World Road Congress has innovated by definitely looking ahead, while being supported by the activities of the past four years. The six cross-linking sessions organized and chaired by the Strategic Theme Area Co-ordinators have given the opportunity to review the needs in road policy and suggest directions for the activities of the World Road Association (PIARC) over the next years. The cross-linking sessions have allowed the four winning teams of young professionals of the Essay Competition to present their vision of transportation into the XXIst century. The detailed conclusions have been drafted with an effort to make a distinction between conclusions aimed for transport policy decision makers and those of a more technical nature aimed for road and road transport practitioners. They often include recommendations for international organizations and PIARC itself, and are followed by bibliographical references. The whole document is structured according to the six Strategic Themes that have covered PIARC activities since the implementation of the First Strategic Plan in 1996. (A)
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