Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Minister Chairs Meetings of 36th Session of Council of Arab Transport Ministers
Minister of Transport H.E. Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti presided over the meetings of the 36th Session of the Council of Arab Transport Ministers, which opened at the headquarters of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), in Alexandria, Egypt, today.The Session is attended by Arab transportation ministers, heads of Arab States’ delegations, and representatives of the Arab League General Secretariat.Addressing the opening session, H.E. Al-Sulaiti thanked the Republic of Iraq’s minister of transport for his efforts as president of the 35th Session of the Council of Arab Transport Ministers.he efforts of strengthening joint Arab cooperation to reach practical solutions to enable all Arab countries of land, maritime and air connectivity to facilitate trade exchange safely and smoothly and enhance Arab countries’ capabilities of building an Arab common market, as aspired by the Arab citizens, said Minister Al-Sulaiti.During the meetings, he added, what has been agreed upon in the previous sessions and the outcomes gathered will be examined and implemented, which can contribute to activating the Arab joint action associated with the various modes of transportation, and implementing strategic plans of development, in addition to discussing all the agreements and reports on regulating ground, maritime and air transportation.He also thanked the representatives of AL General Secretariat for their efforts on organizing the meetings, as well as the committees studying the agenda topics.The meetings discussed numerous topics on land, maritime and air and multimodal transportation between Arab countries. Topics included regulating the transportation of passengers and cargo on roads between and through Arab countries, establishing a comprehensive Arab electronic platform for road, maritime and rail transportation, and multimodal transportation, unifying the hazardous materials transportation procedures, the draft agreement on regulating the maritime transportation of passengers and cargo between Arab countries. The meetings also discussed a comprehensive feasibility study on establishing an Arab mechanism and database to support the shipbuilding and ship repair industry in the Arab countries.On the sidelines of the Session, the AL General Secretariat inaugurated the exhibition accompanying the China-Arab States BDS Cooperation Forum. BDS is the China-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. Arab Transport Ministers and heads of Arab States’ delegations toured the exhibition and were briefed on some of the latest satellite navigation technologies.In a related context, a Minsitry of Transport delegation attended the 28th General Assembly of AASTMT, held today at AASTMT premises in Alexandria and attended by Arab Transport Ministers, heads of Arab States’ delegations, and AASTMT administration. It discussed some of the agenda topics, including establishing a center for climate change and sustainable funding and an offshoot of the AASTMT in Mauritania.
