The Syrian Ministry of Transport and its Jordanian counterpart signed today, Monday, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of railway linkage between the two countries, contributing to facilitating intra-regional and regional trade, and supporting economic development and recovery, at Tishreen Palace in Damascus.
The memorandum, signed by Syrian Transport Minister Yareb Badr and his Jordanian counterpart Nidal Al-Qutamin, stipulates the exchange of expertise, professional consultations, and training courses, as well as cooperation in maintaining and rehabilitating the Hejaz Railway line and the locomotives operating on it.
The memorandum also includes organizing joint field visits to inspect the status of the Hejaz Railway line from both sides, studying the possibility of operating passenger and freight trains between the two countries, encouraging tourism through heritage trains, and working to market tourist sites in both countries in cooperation with relevant authorities and through the websites of the Hejaz Railway Foundation in Syria and Jordan.
In the field of infrastructure development, the memorandum includes the exchange of studies, expertise, and consultations related to railway linkage via standard gauge lines between Damascus and Amman, conducting joint studies and research to develop and rehabilitate railway infrastructure and networks, as well as cooperation in research, development, operation, maintenance, and engineering, enhancing the security and safety of railway lines, and improving their performance.
Implementation mechanisms of the memorandum include the exchange of official delegations and experts, holding training programs, working sessions, and specialized seminars, exchanging scientific, technical information, and joint-interest research, in addition to forming a joint technical working group to follow up on the implementation of activities and necessary procedures, and appointing a contact officer from each side to facilitate coordination and follow-up.
Under the memorandum, each party bears the financial costs incurred in implementing its commitments according to its available resources, without imposing any financial burdens on any party resulting from the maintenance or rehabilitation of the other party's lines or trains.
The memorandum enters into force from the date of its signing, with a duration of one year, automatically renewable for similar periods unless one party notifies the other in writing through diplomatic channels of its desire to terminate or not renew it at least six months before its expiration.
Today, the expanded meeting of the third session of the Syrian-Jordanian Higher Coordination Council was held, chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan Al-Shaybani, and Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, with the participation of ministerial and technical delegations from both sides, at Tishreen Palace in Damascus.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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