During a visit to Dakar on 6-7 July, François Davenne met with Mayacine Camara, the Secretary of State for Railways in Senegal, and Kibily Touré, the CFS (Senegal Railways) Director General. They discussed improving cooperation between Senegal Railways and UIC, through technical solutions for the operational railway as well as joint work to address the fundamental changes needed for a successful partnership from an operational and technological perspective.

During the visit, François Davenne, Christian Chavanel, the Director of the Rail System department, and Maria Lafont visited the renovated Dakar train station and attended a workshop together with the CFS Technical Directors. The discussion focused on concrete technical support that UIC could provide for CFS, including skills and training on rolling stock and track maintenance, safety, maintenance, stations and the quality of services, as well as on health and occupational safety, security, digitisation, sustainability, and gender equality.

In an interview with the daily paper “L’Observateur”, François Davenne stated that UIC was ready for closer technical cooperation with CFS. He further underlined that certain aspects could only come to fruition if there was true partnership between both parties, for example, UIC would offer its expertise for specifications but would also like to include the expertise of its members it in its products. UIC would also like to share its experiences in order to be able to offer appropriate solutions.