The 11th edition of Middle East Rail will take place on March 7 and 8, 2017, at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), with over 350 exhibitors participating from all over the world, said the organisers of the region’s biggest exhibition covering the railways sector.
According to a statement by the UAE’s Federal Transport Authority (FTA), the 2017 edition of the event will extend its project focus to new areas in the MENA region as well as Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.
The exhibition, which will cover 22,500sqm of space at the DWTC, will also see several eminent global intellectuals and experts as keynote speakers. These include Sir Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail in the UK; Asset Assavbayev, chairman of the Transport Committee, Ministry of Investments & Development in Kazakhstan; Mahmood Baligh, minister of the Ministry of Public Works in Afghanistan; and Khaled el Din, vice chairman for Freight Transport at Egyptian National Railways.
The statement added that the FTA signed a memorandum of understanding with the business events organiser Terrapinn to jointly organise the event for three more years. The MoU was signed by Dr. Abdulla S. Al Katheeri, director general, FTA – Land and & Maritime, and David Beguely, managing director of Terrapinn.
Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development and chairman of the FTA, said: “We see Middle East Rail 2017 as a golden opportunity to spotlight top government and private sectors companies involved in the sector through an international conference. This project is in line with the objectives of the FTA to boost the local economy and place the UAE as a logistics hub in the region. We also aim to develop a more sustainable shipping and travel railway network in the region.”
Al Katheeri said: “This collaboration on hosting Middle East Rail 2017 is another way of supporting the government’s vision for the development of the transportation sector in the country as well as applying the FTA’s strategy to raise the efficiency and sustainability standards of land transportation. We have set strict federal regulations that are based on international practices for a safer and comprehensive infrastructure that supports transportation locally and regionally.”
Terrapinn’s Beguely added: “We are greatly honoured to have signed this MoU with the FTA, which will pave the way for us to invite all the right representatives and thought leaders in the railway and transport sectors across the Middle East and internationally, all of whom will exchange knowledge and share their perceptions on the future of land transportation in the region, greatly adding to the development of vital economic sectors.”