7 th MEETING OF THE UIC REGIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR MIDDLE-EAST (RAME) TEHRAN, 30 MAY Minutes. (Draft for approval)

Transcription

1 7 th MEETING OF THE UIC REGIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR MIDDLE-EAST (RAME) TEHRAN, 30 MAY 2010 Minutes (Draft for approval)

2 Introduction The 7th Meeting of the UIC Regional Assembly for Middle-East (RAME) was held on 30 May in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, at the kind invitation of RAI. This meeting was originally planned on 20 April 2010 in Istanbul at the invitation of TCDD in connection with the UIC/TCDD World Rail Security Congress ("Security 2010"). Unfortunately this world security congress and all related UIC meetings had to be postponed at extremely short notice at UIC s request because of the general air traffic disruption in Europe on 18 April due to the volcano ash cloud subsequently making it impossible for a large number of congress participants to reach Istanbul. 1. Participants (appendix) The 7th RAME Meeting was attended by the following railways: TCDD (Turkey), RAI and NirooRail Transport (Islamic Republic of Iran), CFS and CFH (Syria), East Japan Railway Company (EJRC as an observer representing the UIC Chairman) together with UIC, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran and Tehran s International Academy for Higher Education in Rail Transportation. The Regional Assembly meeting was chaired by Mr Süleyman Karaman, President and CEO of TCDD, UIC RAME Chairman, and vice-chaired by Mr Ali Abdol Saheb-Mohammadi, Vice Minister of Road and Transportation, President of RAI, and 1st Vice-Chairman of UIC RAME. UIC was represented by Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director-General, and Mr Paul Véron, Director and UIC Coordinator for the Middle-East, who had also chaired the first meeting of the new RAME Assistants Group on the previous day (29 May). The UIC Regional Office for the Middle-East was represented by Mr Abbas Nazari, Director of the UIC Office and RAI Director-General for International Affairs. The list of participants for the 7th Regional Assembly meeting is attached (appendix).

3 2. Opening of the 7th UIC RAME Meeting 2.1. Mr Süleyman Karaman, President and CEO of TCDD, UIC RAME Chairman, opened the 7th meeting by warmly thanking the Vice Minister, President of RAI Mr Saheb-Mohammadi, for hosting this meeting in Tehran and welcoming all delegations from the Middle-Eastern Railways in particular Iran and Syria, as well as the representative of East Japan Railway company representing the UIC Chairman, the UIC Director-General, the Deputy Secretary General of ECO, and all other participants. Mr. Karaman reminded participants that the 7th RAME meeting was initially planned on 20 April in Istanbul in connection with the UIC/TCCD World Congress on Rail Security. This world congress had to be postponed at the request of the UIC organisers as a consequence of the air traffic disruption in Europe (following the volcanic ash cloud). The Chairman apologised for the very short notice of this cancellation and the inconveniences caused, particularly to the delegations that had already arrived in Istanbul. Mr Karaman summarised the main objectives for the UIC Regional Assembly for Middle-East for the next period: - Identifying targets to further develop and improve cooperation among members in the region, - Promoting the ambitious railway projects vis-à-vis decision-makers (the Middle-East is currently one of the world s most active and dynamic regions in terms of railway planning and construction), - Identifying and deciding on specific railway cooperation projects of interest to the region, - Increasing the participation of RAME member railways in UIC technical projects in all areas of railway activity (projects overseen within the forums and platforms). Mr Karaman presented the organisation of the high-level conference as one of the very important activities in the RAME Action Plan, aiming to promote and support the railway projects in the Middle- Eastern Region. This conference entitled Towards a competitive, interconnected rail transport system projects and perspectives in the Middle-East should provide a unique opportunity to present the railway projects and gain support from a large number of decision-makers from governments, international organisations, funding institutions, regional banks and other potential investors. 2

4 It is an opportunity to present our railway vision of a competitive railway network offering fast services on seamless corridors linking the Middle-East to Central Asia and to Europe. Mr Karaman suggested that this high-level conference initially planned for the end of 2010 in Turkey be held preferably in spring 2011 in order to ensure efficient preparation and to guarantee high-level speakers and attendance. It is essential in his view that all Transport Ministers of the Middle-Eastern Region can personally attend and give their political support in order to convince international institutions and investors. The preparation of this high-level event will be followed at the next RAME meeting and all RAME CEOs should be involved to encourage their respective Ministers (who will be officially invited by Turkish hosts and UIC). Mr Karaman added that further activities in the RAME Assembly should consist in following-up the latest developments in the railway business, e.g. high speed rail operations, freight transport, etc Mr Ali Abdol Saheb-Mohammadi, Vice Minister (RAI), President and 1st Vice Chairman of RAME, warmly welcomed all delegations participating in this RAME Meeting in Tehran (the second RAME meeting organised in the Islamic Republic of Iran after the meeting in Isfahan in May 2007). He expressed best wishes to the representatives from TCDD, CFS and CFH as well as to the Director- General of UIC and Deputy Secretary General of ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization, based in Tehran). Mr Saheb-Mohammadi underlined that all activities recently developed within the RAME community aim to improve the quality of the cooperation among members. The RAI President presented the main challenges for the railways in this UIC Region. He stressed in particular that UIC has an important role to play in rail transport between Asia and Europe. The Middle- Eastern network representing around km of railways and carrying 70 million tonnes of freight and more than 110 million passengers annually is increasing and developing the length of its railway lines and the volume of rail transport. Currently, numerous projects are underway to establish railway connections between Middle-Eastern countries. According to UIC s Vision 2025 for the Middle-East, the 2025 network should be 2 to 2.5 times longer than today s network in terms of railway line kilometres. Mr Saheb-Mohammadi also described the efforts of Iranian Railways to efficiently contribute to the progress and growth of activities for the Middle-Eastern railways. These efforts in particular resulted in the opening of the new premises for the UIC Regional Office at RAI HQ in Tehran, circulating the 3

5 Business Plan and Programme of Work of the Office, and organising on behalf of UIC RAME the 2nd Educational Seminar on Railway Safety on 4 5 May in Tehran (at the Academy). The RAI President also informed RAME Members that the first meeting of the new Assistants Group (Directors of International Affairs) of RAME Railways had been held on 29 May, the day before this meeting, to prepare decisions for the CEOs meeting. Mr Saheb-Mohammadi warmly thanked all participants at this Assistants meeting for the efficient preparation of the CEOs meeting and Mr Paul Véron for having chaired this meeting, the first ever RAME meeting to be organised in the new UIC Regional Office at RAI HQ Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director-General, warmly thanked and congratulated Mr Saheb- Mohammadi as the host railway and Mr Süleyman Karaman, UIC RAME Chairman, for having succeeded in organising this meeting within such a short space of time (after the postponement of the Istanbul meeting due to a rare phenomenon), and before the UIC General Assembly, held on 10 June in Tokyo. Mr Loubinoux extended his greetings to the Deputy Secretary General of ECO as well as to all railway representatives attending the meeting. He underlined that this meeting was particularly important as it was the right time to take decisions on future activities related to the UIC Middle-Eastern area. Several reasons for this: - The Middle-East is currently one of the most dynamic railway regions in the world (by virtue of the number of projects, new cross-border connections, introduction of high speed, projects for new lines and corridors, etc.). It is worth boosting efforts to give this area more visibility and to promote these projects with a single voice vis-à-vis all decisions-makers in the region (governments, international organisations, banks, etc.). The Regional Assembly for Middle-East has to make progress to become a leading and coordinating force for the entire Middle-Eastern railway community, - At UIC level (according to the new statutes), increased power and legitimacy have been given to the 6 UIC Regions to define and implement their own Action Plan with specific projects and activities. So, there is an urgent need to define the course of action and activities for 2010 and 2011, 4

6 - According to discussions at the 6th RAME Meeting in Paris (7 December 2009), it was agreed to redefine the responsibilities for the UIC Regional Office for Middle-East (based in Tehran according to decisions of RAME meetings and as stipulated in RAME Internal Regulations), with the objective to make it to an efficient tool serving the entire community of ME Members. At the December 2009 meeting, RAI and the UIC Regional Office team were asked to produce a Programme of Work and Business Plan to enable the office s activities to be assessed by the end of 2010 and to decide on further activities and budget for Mr Loubinoux thanked RAI and Mr Saheb-Mohammadi for their efficient action in establishing the UIC Middle-East Office on a new basis (Mr Abbas Nazari, RAI Director-General for International Affairs, was appointed Director of the Regional Office), for proposing a reduced budget ( Euro) for the running, and for having prepared the Programme of Work as requested at the December meeting. The UIC Director-General described what he considered as priorities in terms of action to be taken by the RAME Regional Assembly for (with the permanent support of the Regional Office): - Make efforts to attract new members (railways, operators) in order to increase the RAME representativeness and influence in the region, in particular vis-à-vis international institutions, - Communicate on and lobby for railway projects and plans in the region (start with the high-level conference in Turkey), - Develop cooperation links, sign Memoranda of Understanding with international organisations with competence in transport issues (UNESCWA, UNESCAP, UNECE, ECO, Regional Banks), - Develop partnerships with potential investors (by organising Investors Forums, e.g. in the Gulf Region), - Identify new regional or multi-regional projects on railway technical issues, develop cooperation links between the Middle-East and other UIC Regions (e.g. Asia, Europe), - Create networks of technical experts in the region (with support of the Regional Office), - Better integrate Middle-Eastern Railways into the work of UIC s technical bodies (forums, platforms). Progress was made in this direction with a series of technical presentations by UIC directors and senior advisors as part of the 6th RAME Meeting in Paris. 5

7 To summarise, this meeting was important to ensure the continuity of activity in 2010 and to set the frame for enhanced RAME action in Mr Altaf Asghar, Deputy Secretary General of ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization), thanked UIC and the UIC RAME Chairman and Vice-Chairman for the invitation to attend this meeting in Tehran. He underlined that ECO, as well as UIC, was committed to developing more effective rail transport in the region with a focus on developing the North-South and East-West corridors. The ECO networks represent km. The activities of ECO include facilitating international cross-border operations, adopting common rules and procedures (harmonised with UIC procedures) and encouraging the construction of missing links on the networks and corridors (Pakistan, Van Lake, etc.). An ECO container train was launched 2002 between Istanbul and Tehran, followed by passenger trains on this link. Eco is ready to launch a train from Istanbul to Islamabad (?) together with participating railways. ECO as an international organisation is developing closer cooperation with intergovernmental organisations with competence in transport issues such as OTIF (transport law), UNESCAP, UNECE and OSJD. Considering the mutual interests and the common objective of fostering the development of rail transport in the region, the Deputy Secretary General of ECO proposed that the UIC Regional Office in Tehran could also act as a UIC Mission to the ECO Secretariat in Tehran. ECO also proposed to support the organisation of UIC RAME conferences (for example the high-level conference Towards a competitive, interconnected rail transport system - projects and perspectives in the Middle-East ) and contribute to the content. Mr Karaman thanked the ECO Deputy Secretary General for his presentations and proposal for more indepth cooperation. 6

8 2.5. Mr Atsushi Yokoyama, Director of Japan Rail Paris Office and representing UIC Chairman Mr Yoshio Ishida as an observer, expressed thanks to the hosts and extended greetings to all the participants. He expressed the Chairman s satisfaction at the positive emphasis placed on the discussions and activities in the Regional Assembly following the last RAME meeting he had attended on 7 December in Paris. 3. Approval of the minutes of the 6th RAME Meeting held on 7 December 2009 in Paris The RAME Members approved the draft of the Minutes of the 6th RAME Meeting held on 7 December 2009 in Paris (draft circulated by UIC) with one change under Topic 4.2 ( Regional Office Budget Programme of Work ). The wording UIC would help launch activity and for that would guarantee a maximum provisional amount of Euro for the initial running and working of the Regional Office, in order to ensure the continuity of activity until a definitive budget was approved was modified at the request of several members (TCDD, CFS) and replaced by the wording UIC would help launch activity for the initial running and working of the Regional Office, in order to ensure the continuity of activity until the definitive budget was approved at the next RAME Meeting. - The Minutes of the 6th RAME Meeting (7 December 2009, Paris) were approved with one change under Topic 4.2 Regional Office Budget Programme of Work. 4. Country Reports Programme of Work and Activities Report of the UIC Regional Office 4.1 Country reports All presentations on current railway developments and projects (PowerPoint presentations by RAI, TCDD, etc.) will be available on the CD-Rom (Digipack) that will be circulated together with these Minutes. 7

9 PowerPoint presentations were made on the projects in Turkey (TCDD) by Mr Karaman and on railway projects by the Islamic Republic of Iran by RAI President Mr. Sahib-Mohammadi. 4.2 Programme of Work and Activities Report of the UIC Regional Office On behalf of the UIC Regional Office for Middle-East, Mr Abbas Nazari (RAI), Director of the UIC Regional Office, presented the activities carried out in application of the decisions of the 6th RAME Meeting in Paris (7 December 2009). In accordance with these decisions, RAI, as the railway managing the Regional Office, was asked to submit a Programme of Work (Business Plan) to members for the next meeting, illustrating the actions, projects and added value of the Regional Office for members. Mr Nazari commented on the Programme of Work (Business Plan) for the Regional Office. This Programme of Work provides transparent information on the following: - Mission of the Regional Office (in accordance with the RAME Internal Regulations); - Management and the working team (the salaries of two staff members will be paid by Iranian Railways); - General tasks of the Office (cf. Internal Regulations); - Special tasks linked to the implementation of the 2010/2011 RAME (organisation of conferences, technical workshops, etc.); - Extending RAME Membership; - Identifying networks of railway managers and experts in the region; - Developing a network of influent decision-makers and institutional partners with a view to signing agreements and MoUs with these institutions; - Proposing new initiatives and projects to be endorsed by the RAME Regional assembly for the benefit of the Middle-Eastern Railways. Mr Abbas Nazari reported on the activities from the Office s Programme of Work, already started or implemented in 2010, in particular: - Setting-up the office which is fully operational and has started to establish closer cooperation links with all RAME members, 8

10 - Successful organisation of the 2nd RAME Railway Safety Seminar held in Tehran on 4 5 May 2010, - Preparation of the RAME Workshop on Infrastructure Maintenance Asset Management to be held in Jordan in summer 2010, - Establishing or deepening cooperation links with international organisations, in particular with a view to promoting railway corridors (cooperation with ECO, UNESCWA, OSJD), - Contacting potential new members in the Middle-Eastern Region, - Forming networks of experts on railway technical issues (rail safety, security, infrastructure maintenance). - The RAME Chairman thanked RAI, its President Mr Saheb-Mohammadi and the Regional Office Director Mr Nazari for all the activities launched by the Regional Office since the last RAME meeting in Paris, - RAME Members approved the content of this Programme of Work for the Regional Office submitted by RAI according to the request made at the 6th RAME Meeting in Paris. 5. Budget for the UIC Middle-East Regional Office in Tehran The issue of the 2010 Budget for the Regional Office was introduced by Mr Paul Véron, Director and UIC Coordinator for the Middle-Eastern Region. This topic was discussed in depth at the RAME Assistants Group meeting that he had chaired on 29 May. A long discussion took place within this group on the issues of the role, the value and the budget of the Regional Office. Mr Véron reminded participants that the creation of a Regional Office for the Middle-East to support and coordinate the development of RAME activities was a decision adopted at the time when the Regional Assembly was established (see RAME Minutes 2007 and 2008, Internal Regulations). It was decided that this Regional Office would be located in Tehran (location proposed by RAI). The Regional Office is the permanent arm of the Regional Office for the Middle-East. It is vital to coordinate and implement all activities decided by the Regional Assembly. Similarly, the UIC Asian Region maintains a Regional Office in Delhi and UIC Africa will open an office in Tunis. 9

11 The Regional Office, in close consultation with the Regional Assembly Chairman and RAME Members, is mainly tasked with the following: - Managing the RAME meetings (Agenda, Minutes, Activities Report), - Ensuring the follow-up of all RAME decisions, - Ensuring the follow-up of all RAME budgetary issues, - Overseeing the implementation and progress of the RAME Action Plan, - Permanently liaising with RAME members to propose new projects/activities, - Organising conferences, seminars and workshops with UIC s technical support, - Ensuring the follow-up of these conferences and workshops (producing documentation, etc.). Considering the increased role of the 6 Regions in UIC governance, the permanent Regional Office has an essential role to play. This task can be only be achieved with a small team of dedicated staff members. At the Paris RAME meeting on 7 December, a first draft for the Budget of the Regional Office was submitted. This draft took into account a number of operational costs for the running of the office, at a total amount of Euro. This proposal was followed by an intensive discussion on the organisation of the Regional Office, its mission and the lack of a Business Plan (Programme of Work) to estimate the value of this Regional Office. As a result of these long exchanges, the RAI President Mr Saheb-Mohammadi announced the following decisions in Paris in 2009: - Reorganise the Office and appoint a Director, - Integrate the Office into RAI HQ, - Assign experts to this activity, - Submit a reduced budget, - Ask for a Programme of Work (Business Plan) to be prepared by his colleagues at the Office. UIC (Director-General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux) proposed at this meeting in December 2009 to support the running of the Office in 2010 (for a maximum amount of Euro, comparable to the budget for the running of the UIC Asian Region) in order to ensure the continuity of activity (in particular the preparation of conferences and workshops), until a definitive decision was taken by RAME. 10

12 Today UIC considers that RAI satisfied the various issues addressed on 7 December: - A budget reduced from on (with the withdrawal of building rent), - Integration of the office into RAI HQ, - Availability of RAI experts paid by the railway company, - Immediate start of the Office s work in a number of areas, - Presentation today of the Programme of Work and an Activities Report. UIC therefore proposed to approve this reduced budget of Euro and to assess the work and value of the Regional Office s activities by the end of 2010 before deciding on a budget for After intensive discussion, RAME Members approved the budget for the Regional Office Middle-East ( Euro for 2010), - RAME Members would assess the results and the value of the Regional Office s activities before deciding on a budget for the Office for Approval of UIC Regional Budget for the Middle-East The Regional Budget for the Middle-East was presented at the RAME Meeting on 7 December 2009 in Paris. As highlighted by Mrs Marie-Eve Lim, UIC Finance Director, this Regional Budget reflected the new budgetary structure adopted by members at the 2009 UIC General Assembly. The new budgetary structure results for the Middle-Eastern Region is an overall budget of Euro. This ME Regional Budget includes, in accordance with the new budgetary structure: - Core fees (UIC HQ management, UIC technical support and expertise) Euro (the fees of active Middle-East members being gradually adapted to be in line with the contribution level of the active European members), 11

13 - Global fees: Euro (part of Middle-Eastern Railways in financing UIC global activities), - Regional fees: Euro including the Regional Office (now reduced from to Euro), Euro for RAME Regional Assembly running costs travel, documents, translations, etc. and Euro for regional projects on the Action Plan (conferences, technical seminars and workshops, etc.). Mr Véron informed participants that the budget reduction for the Regional Office in Tehran to Euro results in an overall Regional Budget of Euro for 2010 (as part of the regional fees has been reduced from to Euro). Part of this ME budget dedicated to regional activities can be carried over to the 2011 Regional Budget, in the event of savings and postponement of activities/conferences to 2011, etc. - The initial 2010 overall Budget for the Middle-East presented on 7 December 2009 (with a provisional amount of Euro) was established at the amount of Euro, including: Euro for core fees (participation for UIC HQ, UIC technical support and expertise), Euro for global fees (UIC global activities), Euro for regional fees (including Regional Office: , regional activities and projects as set out in the Action Plan: Euro, Regional Assembly running costs: Euro). 7. Follow-up/update of UIC RAME Action Plan for Report on the Rail Safety Seminar (Tehran, 4 5 May 2010) Mr Nazari, Director of the UIC Middle-East Regional Office, reported on the 2nd UIC RAME Educational Seminar that had to be postponed from 2009 and was finally held on 4 5 May 2010 on the premises of the International Academy for Railways (Academy for Railway Engineering in Tehran) and was a 12

14 success. It was attended by representatives from several Middle-Eastern countries (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey). Lectures on Railway Safety were focused on the following issues/ - Safety, Risk and Human Factors, - Planning a corporate safety strategy, - Rail Risk Management, - Developing a Safety Management System (SMS). The scientific and technical content of this two-day seminar had been prepared by Mr Peter Gerhardt, Head of the Rail Safety Division at UIC HQ. Presentations included lectures from UIC (Paul Véron, introduction, Peter Gerhardt and Mrs Meryem Belhaj, Safety and Human Factors), the German Safety Authority EBA (Mr Ralf Schweinsberg), French Railways SNCF (Mr Yves Savoye), further lectures being presented by executives and experts from Iranian railways and universities. As the main results: - UIC will produce a Digipack/DVD with all the scientific content of this seminar to circulate the information to all RAME Members (this content will be also available on the new UIC website (Middle-East activities) to be in operation from December 2010). The next steps to be prepared and coordinated by the ME Regional Office in liaison with the UIC HQ (UIC Railway Safety Division) include: - Setting-up a RAME Safety correspondent group to work on safety projects for the ME Region, - Work on developing a regional safety database (according to UIC methodology and experience), - Draft safety management system guidelines. 13

15 7.2 UIC World Rail Security Congress (Istanbul, June 2010) As already mentioned by Mr Karaman and Mr Loubinoux the Security 2010 World Rail Security Congress jointly organised by UIC and TCDD had to be postponed from April to June. This world congress will address all the strategic, operational and technical aspects of railway security. The content was prepared under the umbrella of the UIC Security Platform in close cooperation with a large number of international organisations involved in issues of transport and railway security (UN, OECD/ITF, European Union, etc.). Prior to the congress opening, an initial meeting of the security experts of RAME Railways will be held in Istanbul (moderated by UIC, Paul Véron and Jacques Colliard, Head of UIC Security Division). The aim will consist in exchanging the priorities in rail security issues in the Middle-East, and considering: - Which (global) activities of the UIC Security Platform the Middle-Eastern Railways could be more closely involved, - Which specific activities/projects related to rail security in the Middle-East 7.3 RAME Seminar on Infrastructure Maintenance Asset Management The UIC RAME Seminar on Infrastructure Maintenance Asset Management was decided in 2008 as one of the most important cooperation issues in the technical field. An invitation to hold this seminar by the end of the summer in Jordan was submitted by Eng. Hussein Krishan, Director-General of Aqaba Railway Coporation (ARC). - The date of the Infrastructure Maintenance Asset Management seminar will be finalised and the organisational framework defined in cooperation between ARC, the ME Regional Office and UIC, - The UIC will propose the scientific programme, provide its technical support and expertise through project managers and senior advisors from the Rail System Department (the UIC Department covering the Infrastructure issues), 14

16 - All RAME railways are requested to identify their own experts of infrastructure maintenance issues and to send the names and contact details to the ME Office in Tehran. 7.4 High-level conference Railway Projects and Perspectives in the Middle-East This high-level conference (under the title Towards a competitive, interconnected rail transport system projects and perspectives for the Middle-East ) is one of the most important activities in the RAME Action Plan 2010/2011 as Mr Karaman had underlined at the opening of the meeting. This conference should contribute to effective lobbying for the railway projects in the Middle-East region and attract increased support from politicians, international organisations, regional banks and investors. Mr Karaman insisted that a condition for ensuring the success of this conference will be a number of very high-level participants. This will only be possible with enough time to prepare and strong involvement from RAME Presidents and CEOs to encourage and invite their respective Ministers. We must also ensure the presence of high-level representatives from ECO, World Bank, Islamic Development bank, EIB, UNESCAP, UNESCWA, UNECE, etc. The representative of ECO present at the meeting proposed to support this conference and to be involved in the preparation of the content. - TCDD together with UIC will fix the date for this high-level conference in spring 2011 (instead of autumn 2010) in order to allow enough time for an efficient preparation, - RAME Members will help to convince their respective Ministers and the heads of important international or regional organisations to attend this conference, - The conference will possibly be organised with the patronage or official support of leading international organisations, - An organisation committee with TCDD and UIC in liaison with UIC ME Office will prepare the conference. 15

17 7.5 1st International Oil/Rail conference Mr Mohamad Satei, Managing Director of NirooRail Transport (Iran), commented that the preparation of the 1st International Oil/Rail conference was to be held in 2011 (date to be fixed). This international conference would propose a programme with workshops dedicated to all important issues of oil and gas transportation: Technology, Operations and Safety, Marketing, Intermodal Partnerships, Regulations. We probably can expect participation from a large number of countries experienced in oil production (Middle-East, Asia, Russia, etc.). Mr Loubinoux confirmed that this issue is very interesting for a number of railways from various parts of the world and he proposed to prepare it within UIC as a multiregional project. This 1st conference could take place in the ME, for example in a Gulf State, and later be followed by a 2nd conference on another continent. Mr Satei informed those present about contacts with UIC s Freight Department and in particular Oliver Sellnick, with the aim of making Oil and gas transport into a project with an international dimension within the UIC Freight sector. The expected result could be the edition of a UIC Leaflet or Guidelines of general use for UIC members. - A date and location (in Iran? A Gulf State?) has yet to be confirmed for this conference, - A budget has to be finalised and approved by the RAME regional assembly (budget for a RAME conference or for a multi-regional conference), currently estimation of 93,000 euros, - The actual details of the organisation have to be finalised in liaison with the ME Regional Office of Tehran. The 2011 Action Plan will also include the possibility to organise: - A conference on high speed rail, 16

18 - A workshop on sea/rail corridors (including cooperation with maritime transport, terminals, ports) that could take place in Syria together with a future RAME meeting. 8. Visiting of Tehran regional Office Because of lack of time the visit of RAME Regional Assembly Members to the UIC Regional Office had to be postponed. However the RAME Railways Assistants Group had the opportunity to discover the premises of the UIC Regional Office at RAI HQ when it met the previous day on 29 May. Closing of the RAME Meeting The RAME Chairman Mr Karaman warmly thanked Mr Saheb-Mohammadi and Iranian Railways for their hospitality and for the excellent organisation. He also expressed thanks to UIC for the preparation and support during this meeting as well as to representatives of Middle-Eastern Railways and other organisations invited, in particular ECO. He invited all participants to attend the World Rail Security Congress in June in Istanbul. 17