Giving his support to the Make Roads Safe campaign, the Gunners' star and captain of the Russian national team said he hopes the Ministerial will agree to a Decade of Action to reduce the level of death and injury globally.
“More than a million people die on the world’s roads each year. This makes road safety a huge problem both in Russia and around the world," he said.
"We have to pay more attention to this issue. As a father of two children, I worry about the safety of young people. We need to take action to protect them on our roads.”
Signing up to the Make Roads Safe campaign at his home in London, he added:
“I support the call for a Decade of Action for road safety. Too many people are dying on the world’s roads. We need urgent action to save lives.”
In Russia over 30,000 people are killed on the roads each year, contributing to a global total of 1.3 million.
The proposal for a Decade of Action for Road Safety is one of the key items on the agenda for the Ministerial, which will take place in Moscow from 18-20 November 2009.
If Ministers agreed to a Decade of Action, worldwide five million lives could be saved and 50 million serious injuries could be prevented over ten years.
For further information on the Make Roads Safe campaign visit: www.makeroadssafe.org
