Iran to Boost Transportation Cooperation with Neighbors

Iran attaches great importance to its transportation cooperation with the neighboring countries and plans to increase transit routes to Iraq and Syria, a senior Iranian official announced.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great importance to the transit of goods and is seeking to expand its transit ties with neighboring states,” Deputy Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Shahriyar Afandizadeh told FNA on Saturday.

He announced that Iran, Iraq, and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand their trade cooperation and boost the transit of goods through their borders, adding the tripartite agreement was signed in Tehran last week.

Senior Iranian, Iraqi, and Syrian trade officials agreed to facilitate the transport of goods by rail and road, the official said.

He noted that a rail line connects Bandar Imam Khomeini on the Persian Gulf in Iran’s Southwestern province of Khuzestan and the town of Shalamcheh on the border with Iraq.

He said plans have been drawn up for the establishment of a railway connection between Shalamcheh and the Iraqi port city of Basra. Once the project is completed, the railway link will stretch to the Syrian port city of Latakia and subsequently to North Africa, the Iranian official stated.

Earlier this month, Iranian and Iraqi provincial officials decided to launch the first passenger shipping line between Iran’s Southwestern port city of Abadan and the port city of Basra in Southeastern Iraq.

Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties ever since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during the 2003 US invasion of the Muslim country.