TEHRAN - Transit of commodities through Iran reached 16.34 million tons during the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), which is a new record high, according to an official with the country’s Transport and Urban Development Ministry.

As stated by Deputy Transport Minister Kamal Hadianfar, of the mentioned figure 14.75 million tons was the share of road transit and the rest was for rail transit, IRNA reported.

As stated by Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash, the “Iran Way” initiative made by the previous Iranian government, lets the neighboring countries use Iran as a route or a solution that facilitates their access to international waters.

Iran Way initiative is the gateway to Iran's land of transit opportunities, the minister underlined.

As previously announced by Deputy Transport Minister Shahriar Afandizadeh, 10.8 million tons of commodities were transited through the country in the Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20, 2023).

The official also announced that Iran registered a new record high with the transit of 8.3 million tons of non-oil goods in 1401, adding that 2.5 million tons of oil products were also transited via the country in the previous year.

Iran is one of the countries with a special status in trade and transit relations due to its strategic location and special geography, as the country is the passage of several important international corridors.

Considering its geographical location, Iran can play a significant role in the transit of goods in the region and benefit a lot from its status in this due.

Paying attention to upstream documents, especially the country's development plans, and the government's decision to develop transit, paying special attention to infrastructure development, reducing transit time, making it cheaper to cross Iran and making more advantages over competitors, due to the short path for customers, can lead to facilitating the development of transit so that the country can reach the desired growth in this due.

In early June, 2023, Afandizadeh announced that the Transport and Urban Development Ministry is preparing a five-year comprehensive plan for increasing transportation and transit relations with Central Asia, as well as the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman countries.

The plan includes the basic strategies and executive roadmap in a step-by-step manner for the next five years and will mark the evolution of the bilateral transport and transit relations with the target countries, including the countries of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Afandizadeh explained.

This year, the issue of transit and playing a role in major programs such as those related to China's Belt and Road Initiative, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is one of the main priorities of the Transport Ministry in developing transport relations with regional and extra-regional target countries, the deputy transport minister noted.

EF/