More than 500 top Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) officials will take part in the first and official GCC Rail and Metro Conference next year in Muscat, Oman.

The event will take place on January 11 and 12 at the Al Bustan Palace. It is being organised by Oman’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, in co-operation with The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf – Secretariat General, and member states.

The investments projected by the GCC countries are estimated at more than $200 billion over the next 10 years with more than $15.4 billion investment in the GCC Railway project to link the member states with an estimated length totaling 2200-km, said a statement.

The conference, ‘A Vision for Sustainable Development,’ will be headlined by high-ranking government officials from the GCC states’ Ministries of Transport, Trade and Commerce, and Finance, alongside top executives from Etihad Rail, Saudi Railways Organization, Saudi Railway Company, Qatar Rail, and Oman Rail.

They will share their progress on project’s development and localisation initiatives as well as participation in dynamic panel discussions to address key issues, challenges and opportunities enabling effective private sector participation.

It seeks to further strengthen GCC economies by fostering trade and bolstering social integration among the member states through improved understanding of localisation practices for sustainable growth and development.

The panel discussions will be moderated by the multi-awarded journalist and best-selling author, Tim Sebastian, founder and chairman of The Doha Debates. He was a former presenter of BBC’s HARDTalk, and also served as a foreign correspondent for several years.
 
The event has been strongly endorsed by the GCC Heads of the States, who are all supporting the development of significant rail and metro projects with the GCC Railway as one regional, integrated and interoperable railway linking all the GCC member states and further integrating with the National GCC Railways. - TradeArabia News Service