TEHRAN – The Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) Jabar-Ali Zakari has said that the country reached an agreement with CIS members to export 200 freight wagons to the mentioned countries.

The agreement was reached last week during the 81st meeting of the Council for Rail Transport of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, according to Zakeri.

Zakeri, who visited Uzbekistan on November 5 to attend the mentioned meeting, said: “One of the achievements of this trip was the signing of an initial quadripartite agreement based on which 200 wagons will be supplied to CIS members.”

According to the official, Iran has also obtained permission for its rail freight to be transported through the rail network of CIS countries.

“We also reached an agreement regarding the permission of Iranian wagons to travel in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and a protocol was signed between the two countries,” he said.

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.

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 was held concurrently with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Uzbekistan Railways, and Zakeri also met with the head of Uzbekistan's railways 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 transportation and transit with these countries, especially after the recent geopolitical developments, has become more important for both sides.

EF/MA