UIC Middle East Regional Board RAME Meeting Held

The International Railways Association (UIC) Middle East Regional Board (RAME) Meeting was held on 08.12.2020 at the General Directorate Meeting Hall via video conference method.

RAME President and TCDD General Manager Ali İhsan Uygun, UIC General Manager François Davenne, Iran Railways (RAI) General Manager Saeed Rasouli, Iraqi Railways (IRR) General Manager Talib Jawad Kadhim, Syrian Railways (CFS) General Manager Najib Alfares, Syria Hejaz General Manager of Railways (SHR) Hasanein Mohammad Ali, Aqaba Railway Company (ARC) General Manager Yaser Krishan, UIC RAME Coordinator Jerzy Wisniewski, UIC Middle East Regional Office Director Abbas Nazari, Rame Office and other officials of UIC and TCDD Education Department and International Relations Office officials attended.

At the meeting, information was given on RAME activities and ideas were exchanged on what can be done to improve cooperation between countries in the region and to use the railway more actively for regional development. The details of the study conducted by the RAME Office on the increase in the share of railways in freight transport in the Eurasia region and the ways to further increase this share were examined. Updates to the RAME's 2020-2021 Action Plan were decided and submitted for the approval of the members.

The members were informed with a presentation made by TCDD General Manager Ali İhsan Uygun about the activities of our Corporation.

Within the scope of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which deeply affects the whole world, what has been done as railways was shared by the members and cooperation was achieved on knowledge. Within the scope of combating the epidemic, what has been done within the RAME and what can be done in the coming period and the planning of the activities to be held in the next period in the region.

General Manager Uygun emphasized that the place of digitalization in our lives has increased due to epidemic conditions, and thus, the reduction of costs in the railway sector, minimizing the human error factor, making healthy analyzes and providing services to passengers from all over the world.

Activities within RAME in the second half of 2020, issues discussed in the "Railway Safety and Level Crossings" video conference held on 30 November 2020, developments addressed in the "Freight Transport Corridors" seminar held on October 14, 2020, RAME budget and current information on financial issues, RAME framework Training activities that can be carried out under the scope of the project and development of interregional cooperation were evaluated.

The meeting held with the video conference method was also beneficial in terms of seeing the importance of cooperation between countries in the region, which has been ongoing for many years, albeit with different methods, in these difficult days when travel and our mobility were restricted due to the epidemic.