Igor Runov is a graduate of the International Economic Relations Department of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. His extensive professional experience includes work in the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he worked in the US-USSR Trade and Economic Council (US-USSR Trade and Economic Council-ASTEC) as Vice President and Head of the New York Representative Office (1993-1995), dealing with issues of developing bilateral trade and economic cooperation. He was invited to the position of First Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia for relations with government agencies. In 2001, he joined the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the Geneva-based international organisation representing the interests of the road transport industry, as Head of the Permanent Delegation to Eurasia and Deputy Secretary General of the IRU (2010). In 2011-2012, Dr. Runov initiated and personally led a joint IRU-UN project to clear mines from roads connecting Northern Afghanistan and Central Asia. This project received special recognition from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and was recognised as an example of excellent partnership with the private sector in achieving important global humanitarian goals. In 2013, Dr. Runov was appointed Head of the newly established IRU Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. Dr. Runov actively participated in various high-level UN consultations, was one of the organizers of the Global Business Alliance (GBA) together with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), participated in various committees and working groups. including the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Road Safety. In 2018, Dr. Runov initiated the establishment of the International Center for Transport Diplomacy in New York (USA) as a non-governmental consultative and educational center (type 2 international partnership according to the UN classification). In July 2021, he was awarded the status of Special Consultant to the UN Economic and Social Council. Dr. Runov is the author of many books and articles on international economic relations, trade and transport, and a member of a number of international Academies.
