The annual 19th African Regional Assembly (ARA) was held on 7 December 2022, both in-person and online, bringing together members of UIC Africa and partners of the region.

In the opening address, Said Chandid, Chief of the Rabat Regional Office, representing Mohamed Rabie Khlie, CEO of ONCF and ARA Chair, congratulated participants on their accomplishments in the year 2022, noting that the African railway community is ready to face new challenges thanks to the collaboration of its members.

François Davenne commented on the need for the African Region’s community to work together to communicate and make progress on current projects, noting the importance of Mohamed Khlie being the first UIC Vice-Chairman to come from the African region, and discussing some of the regions successes such as the new TER in Dakar, launched at the end of December 2021, which highlights that the railway is a crucial mode of transport for Africa. He also further discussed the upcoming 2023 High Speed Congress, which will be held on 7-10 March in Marrakech.

The Assembly reviewed projects from 2022 and announced an ambitious programme for 2023 focused on restarting the Africa Rail Strategy 2063 Study, a new roadmap for the regions activities in 2023-2026, and creating a task force headed by Christian Chavanel, UIC Director of the Rail System Department, to ensure its implementation. Further important work includes increasing collaboration with the African Union Commission, launching regional African projects for resilient infrastructure, in-person and online training, and a Safety Task Force, bi-monthly African Railway Thursday webinars, the African edition of a Project Train2Bequal, and the upcoming UNFCCC 2023 activities, including the launch of the MoreTrains campaign in preparation for COP28 in Dubai.

Upcoming 2023 events

11th UIC High-Speed Congress, 7-10 March 2023, Marrakech
More information: Home - UIC HIGHSPEED congress

Some of the 2022 events

African Railway Thursdays - 7th Webinar “Freight Resilience, Railway Logistics & the New Challenges for its Repositioning”

Middle East and North Africa Climate Week 2022 - MENACW2022

UIC African Railway Thursdays - 8th webinar : " Rethink railway stations in Africa : why and how ?”

UIC African Railway Thursdays - 9th webinar “Serving passenger needs through innovation”

2nd African Rail Digital Congress

Rail at COP27: Get on Board! https://uic.org/events/rail-at-cop27-get-on-board