TEHRAN – The Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) Jabar-Ali Zakari has attended the 81st meeting of the Council for Rail Transport of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to negotiate the possibility of transit rail freight through CIS countries.

As Mehr News Agency reported, since the largest volume of Iran’s rail transit is through CIS countries, one of the main goals of Iran's membership in this council is to obtain permission for Iranian rail freight to be transported through the rail network of CIS countries, and in this regard, negotiations and necessary measures are being carried out.

The CIS Rail Transport Council meets twice a year, with the heads of member states present.

The Russian Federation chairs this council, and Iran is also present as an affiliated member of this council.

In this meeting, various issues such as research and development plans for international rail transportation, presentation of performance reports of members in freight and passenger transportation, performance reports of institutions and specialized commissions of the Council, tariff policy of railways for international transit, and also the status of mutual settlements between the members of the Council are discussed and then approved.

The 81st meeting of the CIS Rail Transport Council is held concurrently with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Uzbekistan Railways, and Zakeri also plans to hold talks with the head of the railways of Uzbekistan to discuss ways of increasing international rail transport between the two countries.

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.

The development of economic relations with the CIS member countries has been one of Iran’s major priorities in recent years, and cooperation in the field of transportation and transit with these countries, especially after the recent geopolitical developments, has become more important for both sides.

EF/MA