Istanbul: The Transport and Communications Ministers Conference of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) concluded in Istanbul, with Sudan taking part through a delegation led by Infrastructure and Transport Minister Saif Al-Nasr Al-Tigani Haroun, alongside transport ministers and senior officials from member countries.
According to Sudan News Agency, the conference sessions featured Sudan's initiative to link Port Sudan to Dakar through a trans-African railway project crossing 13 African countries. The proposal was presented as a strategic project aimed at strengthening intra-African trade and advancing continental economic and logistics integration.
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined the importance of leveraging the geographic location and demographic potential of Islamic countries by developing integrated and reliable transport networks, calling for a shift from deliberations to practical implementation.
For his part, OIC Secretary-General Hussein Ibrahim Taha stressed the need to build resilient transport systems that support sustainable development goals and serve a community representing nearly a quarter of the world's population.
The final communiqu© called for strengthening land, sea, and air connectivity among member states, upgrading infrastructure and supply chains, coordinating regulatory frameworks, and unifying standards, alongside adopting a joint roadmap to advance logistics integration across OIC countries.