On 15 February UIC welcomed the delegation of OTIF (Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail) led by OTIF Secretary General Mr François Davenne – who was re-elected recently for a new mandate at the head of the international transport law organization – together with Mr Bas Leermakers, Head of the Technical Department and Ms Sarah Pujol, Head of Communications. UIC was represented by its Director General, Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Mr Marc Antoni, Director of UIC Rail System Department, and Mr Paul Véron, Director of Communications, UIC Coordinator for the Middle-East.

The objective of this contact meeting was to exchange on synergies and review fields of possible cooperation between both international organisations which have been closely cooperating since the founding of UIC in 1922 in the field of international railway harmonisation and facilitation of cross-border operations by rail.

In this context, OTIF and UIC recently joined their efforts to organise conferences and workshops on harmonisation of international transport by rail, recently in November 2014 in Tehran, and in April 2015 in Doha, Qatar. Among other fields of cooperation, more opportunities will be provided to organise joint workshops and activities in different regions of the world (Middle-East, Asia) in the period to come.

More generally, UIC and OTIF are keen to further develop the traditional and successful cooperation on the issues of interoperability and development of international corridors under the technical, administrative and legal aspects.