Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash met with the Kyrgyz Minister of Transport and Communications on Thursday during the 22nd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government in Bishkek. The two sides discussed launching a railway corridor from Kyrgyzstan to Iran via Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, Iran Press reports.
Mehrdad Bazrpash emphasised the importance of active cooperation in constructing new railways connecting the SCO member states and developing multimodal transport and modern logistics centres. He asserted that developing railway networks along the North-South and East-West international corridors is one of the essential ways to increase economic transactions between the SCO member states.
During the meeting, both parties expressed their support for completing the construction of transit routes, streamlining regulations, and advancing logistics support. The focus was on fostering efficient transportation and trade facilitation.
In October of this year, representatives from the Ministries of Transport and Railway Industry of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Türkiye convened to discuss important matters related to expediting the signing process of an agreement to establish an international transport corridor known as the China - Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Iran - Türkiye - Europe route.
The discussions aimed to address critical matters and promote the smooth implementation of this strategic transport corridor, which will connect various regions and facilitate trade between Europe and Asia.