TEHRAN – Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi met with Director of the Intergovernmental Council of the Roads Management of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Bouri Karimov in Tehran on Tuesday to discuss the expansion of transportation ties among CIS members.

In the meeting, Karimov invited Iranian companies to participate in transportation projects of CIS member countries and Qasemi called for establishing consortiums comprised of the CIS states’ technical-engineering companies to collaborate in such projects, IRNA reported.

The exchange of capacities and capabilities of the CIS members in the field of transportation and transit were also emphasized in the talks.

Karimov arrived in Tehran on Monday, aiming to hold talks with senior Iranian officials to explore ways of expanding ties between CIS countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Upon arrival, he met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mahdi Safari and reviewed transportation and transit ties between Iran and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

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

During this meeting, Karimov pointed to the potential of the CIS Intergovernmental Council of the Roads Management and underlined the need for the exchange of experiences among member companies and their Iranian counterparts.

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