During the meeting at UIC, there was an overview and a discussion on work progress led by Mr Mohamed Khlie, African Region Chairman and Moroccan Railways CEO, who was assisted by Mr Said Chandid, his Cabinet Director. Jerzy Wisniewski, UIC African Region Coordinator, attended the meeting and reported on work results/plans in 2015.

There are several priority activities to develop this year, in accordance with the decision of the last Regional Assembly. The African Region members asked UIC HQ for support in the following areas: third session of training on safety/security to be held at the ONCF training centre in Rabat from 18 – 30 May; invite members of the Region to attend this year’s SIAFI session starting on 18 May at UIC HQ (two registered attendees); promote regional activity through communication tools such as the “FOCUS on African Region” – a paper to be edited biannually – its first edition to be ready by the end of May.

Following the Regional Assembly decision, the Representative Office of the African Region has been transferred to Rabat from Tunis, its official opening is foreseen this semester. The ILCAD – awareness at level crossings – campaign will also take place in the Region, with ONCF organising the dedicated daily event in Morocco in parallel to the main one in Istanbul (3 June).

The African Region will follow up the conclusions from “Report on development of the African railways – in 2040 perspective”, the strategic document based on the UIC study to reinforce ongoing cooperation with the African Union – the meeting in Addis-Ababa in scheduled this semester. The seminar on interconnectivity and training on maintenance of a railway track is planned for the second part of the year.

ONCF and UIC are preparing the “NEXT STATION” global conference this year, to be held in Marrakesh from 21 – 22 October.

The members of the Region will attend the next General Assembly and High Speed Congress in Tokyo on 6 July.