The UIC Middle East Regional Assembly meeting was held on 29 May 2024 in Jordan under the chairmanship of Mr Veysi Kurt, TCDD, Chairman of the Board & Director General of TCDD (Türkiye), and under the Vice Chairmanship of Mr Seyed Miad Salehi, Vice-Minister for Roads and Urban Development, Chairman of the Board, President RAI (Iran) and Dr Bashar Khaled Al Malik, CEO of SAR (Saudi Arabia), represented by Mr Salah Alomair.
On behalf of Ms Wesam W. Tahtamouni, Ministry of Transport of Jordan, Mr Zahi Khalil, Director General of JHR, host of the meeting, delivered an introductory speech focusing on cooperation with other countries in the region.
Mr François Davenne, UIC Director General, opened the Regional Assembly Middle East (RAME) in the presence of his Excellency Erdem Ozan, Ambassador of Türkiye in Jordan.
The meeting was attended by members from 11 countries, notably ARA (Afghanistan), ARC (Jordan), Etihad Rail (UAE), IRR (Iraq), ISR (Israel), JHR (Jordan), Kafriz (Iran), RAI (Iran), SAR (Saudi Arabia), TCDD (Türkiye), TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş (Türkiye), TGA (Saudi Arabia) and guest as observers Qatar Rail and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Railways Authority.
Debates focused on:
- Rail development in the region and from/to Europe and Asia, new lines and modernisation, reconstruction of old or destroyed networks,
- Border crossing, interoperability, digitalisation.
Regarding training, MERTCe is one of the International Training Centres of UIC. Established within TCDD in 2012 under the governance of UIC, the centre is located in Ankara and aims to find effective solutions for RAME countries.
Ongoing activities within this area include the Freight Working Group, the Security Platform, the Opt-in project on extreme weather, H2 technology, heating ventilation and air-conditioning. Developments in 2024 – 2025 cover the FRMCS Initiative for Middle-East, the Safety platform as well as Regional competence hubs.
