TEHRAN - The fifth meeting of the “national working group on transportation and transit diplomacy” was held on Sunday with the presence of senior executives from transit agencies.

The meeting was chaired by Mehdi Safari, the Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy.

According to ISNA, the participants first examined the recent national, regional and international developments in the field of transport and transit.
 
Then, the representative of Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone Organization presented a report on the latest measures related to the development of transit capacities of Chabahar port.

Throughout the meeting, issues such as the need to establish direct international shipping lines to Chabahar, accelerating the completion of Chabahar to Zahedan railway project, facilitating the presence of foreign investors in Chabahar and continuing cooperation with the Indian operator were among the issues discussed and emphasized by the national working group. 

Representatives of the Trade Promotion Organization and the Ports and Maritime Organization also presented a report on the latest measures to expand the transit of goods through the Caspian Sea and equip northern ports with mooring facilities for Ro–Ro ships, as well as connecting the Caspian port railway to the country's rail network to the national working group and decisions were taken in that regard.

Representatives of Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (RMTO) and the Oil Ministry submitted a report on the arrangements taken to solve the fuel problems of foreign trucks in Pakistan-Iran-Turkey road corridor. The corridor has been recently set up within ECO framework and is expected to have a transit capacity of 15,000 trucks per year. 

Safari, who served as Iran’s ambassador in China and Russia and Iran's special envoy on Caspian Sea Affairs, reiterated the importance of transit for national economy and its role in developing and deepening relations with neighboring countries.

The job taken by Safari is new in the Iranian Foreign Ministry.