Following a joint decision by the railway Presidents and CEOs from the Middle-East at their last RAME meeting held on 23 November in Istanbul, the 1st High-level conference entitled “Railway Projects and Perspectives in the Middle-East – Towards a Competitive, Interconnected Rail Transport System” will be held on 22 February 2011 in Ankara at the invitation of Turkish State Railways (TCDD) and under the High patronage of the Minister of Transport Mr Binali Yildirim. It is organised in close cooperation between TCDD, UIC and the Turkish Ministry of Transport.
The objective of this one-day high-level conference is, for the first time, to organise a general presentation of all railway development projects in the Middle-Eastern Region, with all decision-makers representing governments (Ministers of Transport), international and regional organisations, financial institutions as well as railway stakeholders and potential partners, and to illustrate the importance of rail transportation for future mobility in the region.
This interactive conference should strongly contribute to internationally promote the vision of an interconnected rail transport system for the Middle-East, serving populations, the economy and more generally serving the objectives of sustainable development.
The conference should create opportunities to gain effective support from political organisations (national as well as international organisations), financial institutions and potential investors from public or private sectors.
The provisional conference programme includes:
- Welcome addresses by the President of TCDD and Director-General of UIC,
- Addresses by Ministers of Transport from the Middle-East Region,
- Presentations of rail projects by railway Presidents and CEOs (including rail projects in Turkey, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan),
- Presentations by international organisations and stakeholders, including financial institutions,
- Intermodal operators, business partners
Participation in this High-Level Conference is by invitation only and attendance will be free of charge for invited guests.
