Call for expansion of Shahid Rajaee port, TRACECA corridor

EghtesadOnline: Visiting Secretary General of the Transport Corridor of Europe-the Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) Mircea Ciopraga called for expansion of cooperation with Shahid Rajaee port, Iran's biggest cargo port, in southern province of Hormuzgan.

News ID: ۷۶۹۱۰۷

30 August 2016

Ciopraga made the remarks after touring different sections of Shahid Rajaee port, according to IRNA.

He added effective measures have been taken for fostering the performance of Shahid Rajaee port with TRACECA corridor.

Ciopraga said the main mission of TRACECA is facilitating the traffic of goods and passengers from the Far East and Central Asia to the Caucasus and Europe.

On Aug 29, the TRACECA official in a meeting with Minister of Road and Transportation Abbas Akhundi stressed the need for expansion of cooperation with Iran and called for Islamic Republic’s further contribution to the organization’s programs.

Ciopraga said the organization is financially supported by European Commission and uses the sources to conduct its projects.

Given the positive atmosphere created in the post-sanction era, he said, the TRACSICA now has the chance to complete the transit routes passing through Iran.

TRACECA is a complex multi-modal transport system in countries of the region, which aims to develop economic and trade relations and transportation links between countries and regions that is a significant contribution to the revival of one of the most famous historical routes of the Silk way.

In September 1998, at a historic summit in Baku, 12 TRACECA countries signed the 'Basic Multilateral Agreement on International Transport for Development Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (MLA) in order to take full advantage of its geopolitical and economic opportunities.

The transport corridor TRACECA is the renaissance of the Great Silk Road, one of the ancient routes in the world. The corridor starts in the Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine) and also crosses Turkey. There are routes passing the Black Sea to the ports of Poti in Georgia, further using transport network of the Southern Caucasus, and a land connection towards this region from Turkey. From Azerbaijan by means of the Caspian ferries (Baku – Turkmenbashi, Baku – Aktau) TRACECA route reaches the railway networks of Central Asian states of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

The transport networks of these states are connected to destinations in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and reach the borders of China and Afghanistan.