TEHRAN - The transport ministers and representatives of the member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the creation of a new transport corridor from China to Europe via Iran, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Thursday.

The MOU was signed on the sidelines of the 12th meeting of ECO transport ministers which was held in the capital of Uzbekistan with the participation of Iran’s Deputy Transport Minister Shahriar Afandizadeh, IRIB reported.

The unification of tariffs on transportation procedures and border processes will be implemented within the framework of the mentioned MOU, according to which, a significant share of the transit volume from China to Europe can be carried out via Iran's east-west transit route.

At the meeting, the ECO transport ministers also exchanged views on strengthening transport communications in the ECO region.

The need to finance infrastructural projects in the ECO region with the participation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), completing the missing rail and road links and strengthening the regional corridors including Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul and Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul and also east-west corridors for connecting China to Europe as well as Caspian Sea routes were among the other issues discussed at the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Afandizadeh expounded on the “Iran Road” transport initiative and emphasized that all countries in the region will be able to have safe and cheap access to other destinations via Iran using the initiative.

The 13th Meeting of Transport Ministers of the ECO will be held in Tehran in 2024.

EF/MA