African Transport Ministers Call for the Adoption of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol

African transport and energy ministers spoke out last month in support of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention at the Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Interregional Infrastructure, and Energy (STC-TTIIE) of the African Union (AU). The high level meeting took place in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and the declaration, addressed to the 55 AU member states, issued after the high level meeting and now published, urged “[a]ll remaining Member States to complete the ratification process for ….. the Luxembourg Protocol on railway rolling stock”. The statement from ministers, now being referred to as the Zanzibar Declaration, is part of a call to action to strengthen Africa’s infrastructure in the air, at sea, and on land.

For the Rail Working Group and stakeholders in the railway industry, the Zanzibar Declaration is a major step forward for the development of the rail sector in Africa; the AU has thrown its weight behind the Luxembourg Rail Protocol, alongside a push to implement several other measures to modernise, streamline and strengthen African transport networks. Since over 50 nations on the continent have neither signed nor ratified the Protocol, this declaration provides a powerful impetus for positive change while also recognising the Protocol as a critical part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).

“We welcome the inclusion of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol in the Zanzibar Declaration as a key part of PIDA and in support of the AU flagship project, the African Integrated Railway Network and the African Continental Free Trade Area,” said RWG Chairman Howard Rosen. “Better rail transport across Africa will power the next phase of African growth in a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way, but this will require massive investment in rolling stock from the private sector, which will be driven by the Luxembourg Rail Protocol delivering more security and cheaper funding for rail operations domestically and across borders in Africa,” he added.