On 31 May 2023, participants from Afghanistan, Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Israel and the United Arab Emirates gathered in Istanbul for a Regional Assembly for the Middle East (RAME) Freight Working Group meeting. The Chair of the meeting, Philip Van den Bosch, Deputy Director of the UIC Freight Department, gave an update of the developments in the UIC Middle East Region.

The Freight WG nominated TCDD Taşımacılık, represented by Oktay Aydinoglu, as the new Chair.

Oktay Aydinoglu , Deputy Head of the Freight Department, TCDD Taşımacılık
The meeting continued with every member approving the “Master plan for safe and environmentally friendly freight transport” project, which will be chaired by Etihad Railways. A general agreement on the milestones and the next steps was reached.

The North-South Corridor project was approved and will be chaired by Iraq Railways.

The Freight WG agreed on a merger with the project on operational rules and approved the bringing forward of the project forward to this year. An additional budget allocation was also agreed to finance the project.

The next meeting will take place in November, alongside the 32nd Regional Assembly for the Middle East (RAME).