On 28 August 2016, H.E. Dr. Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Road and Urban Development of Iran met with Mr. Ciopraga, TRACECA Secretary General

Within the discussion with H.E. Dr. Akhoundi, Mr. Ciopraga emphasized the necessity to expand ties between Iran and TRACECA and called for the more active contribution of the Islamic Republic to the TRACECA program while expressing satisfaction over Iran’s condition in the post-sanction time.  

At the same time, H.E. Dr. Akhoundi and Mr. Ciopraga exchanged views on the issues of development of transport infrastructure, prospects of further development and strengthening of transport cooperation in the region.

H.E. Dr. Akhoundi mentioned the logistic role of Iran in the region and the plans of Iran for development of dry ports. A dry port (sometimes inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a center for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.

It was also noted that transport-transit potential of the Islamic Republic of Iran will considerably extend the geography of traffic along the TRACECA corridor, at the same time enhancing the effectiveness of the TRACECA routes for cargo carriers.

Moreover, during discussion Dr. Akhoundi stressed the development of investment facilities in the port of Bandar Abbas, special economic zones as well as Iranian huge investments allocated to the transport corridors. 

Within the official visit to Iran, the Minister advised to the Secretary General to get familiarized with Iran’s potentials in the north and south of the country, especially those in the southeastern port, Bandar Abbas and Chabahar.

It should be mentioned that the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is a full member of the Basic Multilateral Agreement (MLA) TRACECA since 2009.