Tehran, May 28 (MRUD NEWS)—Iran deputy transport minister, Shahriyar Afandizadeh, attended the meeting of transport ministers of the neighboring countries in Baghdad.
The meeting hosted transport ministers from the neighboring countries and the member states of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), on May 27, 2023, and represented the endeavors of Iraq's Government to strengthen cooperation and foster economic integration with the neighboring countries.
In the meeting, Affandizadeh, gave a speech on behalf of Iran and conveyed the message of Iran Minister of Roads and Urban Development and his satisfaction for attending this meeting.
Emphasizing on the role of Governments for promoting regional trade and supply chain management along transport corridors through key agreements and alignment of policies, Affandizadeh proposed Iran's strategic initiatives for greater synergy along transport corridors and transit routes.
The initiatives included formation of a joint steering committee for management and supervision, establishment of a joint fund for financing and investment on transport infrastructures, and multinational transport and logistics companies for facilitating transfer of technological experiences in the field of logistics and multimodal transportation.
The joint steering committee can advance policies and strategies including targeting volumes of annual transit between countries in the short and long term through existing and future corridors, supporting the joining of non-member countries to corridors, creating a unified management mechanism for all the transit corridors of the member countries in line with the realization of the aforementioned targeting and also removing the obstacles for the development of corridors, he further explained.
Iraq held a conference on May 27 in Baghdad that was attended by transport ministers of the neighboring countries to court regional investments. Iraq’s government envisions road and rail project to link Asia and Europe with about $17 billion investments.