TEHRAN- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mahdi Safari has met with Director of the Intergovernmental Council of the Roads Management of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Bouri Karimov and Venezuela’s transportation minister.

The meetings focused of fostering economic cooperation.

Safari and Karimov discussed different dimensions of multi-faceted economic and transportation cooperation.

During the meeting, Karimov (from Tajikistan), as the director of the aforementioned council in the CIS, talked about the attractive opportunities for cooperation between the Commonwealth of Independent States and Iran as part of various transportation corridors, including the North-South corridor.

Karimov said his visit to Iran is aimed at expanding the ties between CIS countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

Karimov also pointed to the potential of the Intergovernmental Council of the Roads Management and the membership of some private companies in the body, underlining the need for exchange of experiences among member companies and their Iranian counterparts.

Safari also highlighted the importance of expanding ties in the area of international transportation with the CIS countries and welcomed Karimov’s proposals for more meetings and mutual visits to see the transportation potential of both sides.

It should be mentioned that the Commonwealth of Independent States, also known as the CIS, was formed in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and is comprised of Armenia, the Azerbaijan Republic, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Expansion of the ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the member states of the organization is among the priorities of Tehran and cooperation with these countries in the field of transportation and transit in line with common interests has gained additional importance, especially after the recent geopolitical developments.

In his meeting with the Venezuelan minister, Safari underlined that there is no limitation when it comes to expansion of ties with Venezuela, as a friendly country.

He also underlined the need for enhanced cooperation across all areas.