Tehran, June 16, 2024 (MRUD NEWS)—The first meeting of the joint task force on transport and transit cooperation between Iran and Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent with the aim of identifying and removing barriers facing transport and transit of freights between the two countries.

In this two-day meeting, which was held on June 10-11, the two countries reviewed their status in regional and international transport corridors and conferred on the development of cooperation between Tehran and Tashkent in road, rail and air modes of transport.

The two countries also reached agreements regarding the reduction of transport costs and customs formalities. 

Kamal Hadianfar, Deputy Transport Minister chaired the task force, and at the end of his meeting with Uzbekistan's Minister of Transport, Ilkhom Mahkamov, they signed the minutes of the meeting. 

Previously in March, during the meeting of Iran and Uzbekistan high-ranking officials at Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, the two countries advanced transport and transit ties through forming a joint transport committee, drafting a transit roadmap, and a comprehensive transport and transit MoU between the two countries which was concluded in June 2023. 

The volume of trade between the two countries reached $500 million in 2023 and it is expected to increase significantly in 2024, according to Uzbekistan's Energy Minister.