MRUD NEWS—A tripartite Memorandum of understanding (MoU) on railroad cooperation has been signed in a joint meeting by the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The MoU has been negotiated and agreed upon on the sidelines of the summit of ECO member states.

As per this new MoU, a joint working group will be formed to follow up rail transit between Iran, Kazakistan, and Turkmenistan.

The MoU is agreed following the previous agreement a month ago between Seyed Miad Salehi, the CEO of the IRI railways, and Azat Atamuradov, the Chairman of Turkmenistan Railway Agency of the Ministry of Industry and Communications of Turkmenistan. Then Iran and Turkmenistan agreed on development of transit and export, doubling up the rail transactions through Sarakhs rail border crossing, re-opening of the Artiq-Lutfabad Border, and holding joint meetings between the representatives of the two countries’ Railways.

Due to the geopolitical privileges of Iran, this agreement on rail transport and transit will result in the increased rail transits through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Iran. Subsequently, it will expand operations through International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and develop political and economic relations through this international corridor. Moreover, the increase of non-oil revenues of Iran is accordingly expected.

Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran (KTI) Railway Corridor has been constructed and was put in operation at the end of 2014. The inception meeting for the Study Project on Commercialization of KTI Railway Corridor was held in 2019 in Tehran. The possibilities of commercialization through railway transport is particularly important for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) because of the cost-effectiveness of railways in carrying heavy freights over long distances and in providing access to seaports.