The CIT General Assembly was held in Bern on 16 and 17 November. In addition to the items already scheduled for the meeting’s agenda, this was also an opportunity to acknowledge the many years’ work accomplished by CIT’s Secretary-General Thomas Leimgruber, and Deputy Secretary-General Henri Trolliet. All the CIT members acknowledged their achievements and unanimously elected Cesare Brand and Erik Evtimov as their successors respectively. On this occasion, CIT’s Chairman Jean-Luc Defournaud and Thomas Leimgruber had invited UIC Director-General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux to attend the meeting as well as the group dinner with all the members on the evening of 16 November.

During the latter part of the General Assembly, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux delivered a presentation to CIT on the work undertaken by UIC, in particular through the many and fruitful relations it is fostering with all the other professional and corporate associations and organisations across the world. This presentation, as well as the debate that followed, was particularly appreciated by all the members, and highlighted the close ties between UIC and CIT within international projects, particularly those aiming to establish technical and administrative interoperability between Europe and the Middle-East, as well as Central Europe and Asia. Jean-Pierre Loubinoux also expressed his sincere thanks to Thomas Leimgruber and Henri Trolliet, and stated his desire for these constructive and friendly relations to continue under Cesare Brand and Erik Evtimov.