Iran Press/ Iran News: Iran and Turkmenistan’s commercial transactions demonstrated an 84 percent increase in 2021 and further bilateral transit cooperation could significantly increase regional trade between northern countries and the Indian Ocean through Iran.
Iran Minister of Transport and Urban Development, Rostam Ghasemi, met with Turkmenistan’s deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, on January 8 to discuss bilateral transport and transit.
Freight transit is among the key plank of collaboration between Iran and Turkmenistan and Joint Economic Commission is considered as a good platform for building relations and advancing cooperation.
In rail transport, there is an agreement for the traffic of 400 freight wagons per day through Sarakhs Border, which still can be further increased.
In this sense, the two sides discussed the removal of the barriers at Sarakhs Border, for which a special task force is decided to be formed.
Transit is particularly important for Iran and Turkmenistan as the volume of trade between Russia in the North and India in the south is considerable. The rail route through Iran is very economical as it directly links the northern countries to the Indian Ocean through Chabahar Port. The route reduces total transit time from three months to 20 days, according to the Iranian Minister.
In this meeting, the two sides informed of an 84 percent increase in commercial transactions between Iran and Turkmenistan in 2021.
Air and road transport, as well as an intelligent transportation system, were also negotiated.
Berdimuhamedov explained the development of transport infrastructures in Turkmenistan for increased freight transport; Namely, 230 km of Ashgabat–Turkmenabad Highway was operated last year.
Previously, the 16th meeting of the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission was held from 26 to October 27, 2021, at Iran’s Ministry of Transport and Urban Development, in which Rostam Ghasemi and Rashid Meredov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkmenistan chaired the meeting.
Then, Iran’s Minister of Transport informed of the agreement for doubling rail transit between Iran and Turkmenistan and also the two countries’ agreement for participation in the trilateral agreement between Iran-India-Afghanistan in Chabahar Port that would enable Turkmenistan to transit freights to the northern countries.
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