Iran Proposes New Transit Routes, Infrastructure Coop. with Kazakhstan

Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh has proposed expanding regional transit routes, strengthening railway connectivity and boosting infrastructure cooperation with Kazakhstan to facilitate trade and improve logistics links across the region.

The minister made the proposals during a meeting with her Kazakh counterpart, Nurlan Sauranbayev, in Kazakhstan on Friday, according to Iran’s Roads and Urban Development Ministry. Sadegh highlighted a roadmap for the eastern route of the International North–South Transport Corridor, developed by Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan, and called for implementing existing agreements and removing obstacles to bilateral cooperation.

Her proposals included activating the corridor’s eastern branch, increasing transit capacity, connecting Chabahar Port to Iran’s railway network, and developing the China–Kazakhstan–Iran–Europe corridor.

Sadegh said Iran had submitted a proposed roadmap for bilateral cooperation focusing on the suggested routes and expressed hope that the document would be signed soon to accelerate implementation.

She also called for implementing the amended protocol on international passenger and freight transport, emphasizing the importance of expanding road and rail connectivity. The Iranian minister invited her Kazakh counterpart to attend the upcoming inauguration of the Chabahar–Zahedan railway. She said the railway, which is planned to extend toward Sarakhs, would improve access for Afghanistan and countries north of the Caspian Sea while creating new opportunities for regional transit and logistics.

Sauranbayev welcomed the proposals, saying the bilateral cooperation roadmap was being finalized. He also accepted the invitation to attend the railway inauguration. The Kazakh minister underscored the need to diversify road and rail networks, increase trade and strengthen bilateral and multilateral consultations with regional countries to improve logistics links connecting Central Asia, the Caucasus and Europe. - IRNA