As part of their cooperation under the Capacity Building Project, the Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) jointly organized the eighth meeting of the Regional Cooperation Mechanism for the Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Accidents in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA ARCM/8), which was generously hosted by the National Safety Transport Centre (NTSC) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2-4 November 2025. 
H.E. Captain Tai Al Shamri, President of the NTSC, inaugurated the WS in highlighting the important role played by the MENA ARCM as a mechanism for the exchange of information and best practices among Member States. As the Multimodal investigation unit, His Excellency also noted the maturity of the aviation across the other transport mode given its proactivity, global standardisation as well as its learning process.

 H.E. Captain Aisha Al Himaili, Chair of the Regional Coordination Mechanism Committee for the Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Accidents in the Middle East and North Africa, highlighted the role of the conference as a platform for collaboration between stakeholders in the civil aviation sector. She also stressed the importance of establishing a regional safety database for accident investigation.

The meeting presented a report on the progress made in the areas of cooperation, an update on the data collected in relation to the accident investigation, as well as the solution and challenges of data exchange, the technical assistance process in the MENA region, and an overview of upcoming events/activities.

Representatives of EU and ENCASIA shared their experiences from the European side and the regional mechanism of accident investigation authorities on data collection and processing. A brainstorm session was organized to engage MENA countries in the drafting the Roadmap of the Safety Recommendations Platform (SRP).  

The meeting approved the said roadmap of the ARCM platform followed by the action plan associated with the establishment of the platform with data collection capabilities and safety recommendations analysis at the regional level. Saudi Arabia has generously offered to cover the cost of this platform.