TEHRAN – The 12th Meeting of Transport Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was held in the capital of Uzbekistan on Thursday with the participation of Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Shahriar Afandizadeh.
The agreement on creation of a new transport corridor from China to Europe via Iran, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan was signed by the transport ministers and representatives of the member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Tashkent.
In the meeting, the protocol for the creation of a new transport corridor from China to the EU via Iran, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan was inked by the transport ministers of the ECO member states.
The unification of tariffs and transportation procedures and border processes will be implemented within the framework of the protocol, according to which, it is predicted that a significant share of the transit volume from China to Europe can be attracted into Iran’s east-west transit route.
At the meeting, the ECO transport ministers also exchanged views on strengthening transport communications in the ECO region.
The need to finance infrastructural projects in the ECO region with the participation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), completing the missing rail and road links and strengthening the regional corridors including Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul and Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul and also east-west corridors for connecting China to Europe as well as Caspian Sea routes were among the other issues discussed at the meeting.
Iran’s deputy roads minister expounded on the “Iran Road” transport initiative and emphasized that all countries in the region will be able to have safe and cheap access to other destinations via Iran using the initiative.
The 13th Meeting of Transport Ministers of the ECO will be held in Tehran in 2024.