TEHRAN– Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development (MRUD) said that Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed a tripartite MoU on railroad cooperation on Saturday.
The MoU was negotiated and agreed upon on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit.
As per the new MoU, a joint working group will be formed to follow up rail transit between Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.
The MoU follows the agreement that was signed a month ago between the CEO of Iran’s railway company and his Turkmen counterpart.
MRUD said that the agreement would result in increased rail transits from/to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through Iran.
Subsequently, it will expand operations through International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and develop political and economic relations through this international corridor, the ministry added.
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran (KTI) Railway Corridor has been constructed and was put into operation at the end of 2014.
The inception meeting for the Study Project on Commercialization of KTI Railway Corridor was held in Tehran in 2019.
The possibilities of commercialization through railway transport are 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.

Iran, Turkmenistan Discuss Economic Cooperation

Elsewhere, deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mahdi Safari held talks with Raşit Meredow Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister in his trip to Ashgabat and expressed Iran’s readiness to transfer experiences to Turkmenistan in various fields including technical engineering, nanotechnology and biotechnology.
In the meeting, they reviewed cooperation in various fields including energy, shipment and transit of goods. They also underlined the effort to enhance economic diplomacy cooperation.
15th ECO Summit is scheduled for November 28, 2021, in Turkmenistan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will be attending the summit.
During the meeting, cooperation on various fields including energy, gas and electricity, shipment and transit of goods, export of technical and engineering services as well as healthcare and medical service were discussed.
Safari also underscored the Iranian President’s policy to prioritize enhancing relations with neighboring countries.
Safari, emphasizing Iran’s economic, cultural and commercial capabilities, expressed readiness to transfer experiences in the fields of technical-engineering, nanotechnology and biotechnology.
“Iran’s private sector is ready to cooperate on different projects in Turkmenistan” he added.
Meredow described his recent trip to Tehran and holding the joint Iran-Turkmenistan economic commission meeting as “constructive” and stressed Turkmenistan’s intention to make agreements operational.
Earlier, Meredow traveled to Tehran to attend second Afghanistan’s neighboring countries summit and Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Commission meeting. Meredow also met and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Hussein Amir-Abdollahian on his trip to Tehran.