Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadeq stated on Monday that one of the most pivotal themes in the 13th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Transport in the capital Tehran was the expression of readiness across all modes of transport by the entire ECO members."One of the most crucial themes in this meeting was definitely and unequivocally the declaration of readiness in all modes of rail, road, maritime, and air transport by all ECO members,” Sadeq said on the sidelines of the international meeting, as reported by ISNA.“In the port sector, coastal states proposed their readiness to provide logistics sites for landlocked member countries," she added.The 13th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Transport was held in Tehran on Monday, and the 'Tehran Declaration' was issued after the gathering, according to the Iranian roads minister.Five ministers and three deputy ministers attended the 13th session of ECO member ministers, alongside the ECO secretary-general, the secretary-general of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the president of the ECO Trade and Development Bank, and a representative from Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA). Key viewpoints were presented during the session.In her address, the Iranian roads minister emphasized transport’s role in regional and economic development, adding, "Focusing on enhancing regional cooperation, leveraging the region's vast capacities, and the critical role of transport in this regard are priorities for the Iranian government."Highlighting Iran’s strategic advantages, she noted, "Iran enjoys a unique geographical position in West Asia, with access to open waters via the Persian Gulf and oceans as well as over 250,000 kilometers of roads, and 15,000 kilometers of railways at North-South and East-West crossroads. These capacities, combined with international cooperation, create immense opportunities for transport and transit development in the region."Multimodal corridorsMeanwhile, addressing reporters on the meeting’s sidelines, Sadeq stated, "Another key point emphasized in this session was multimodal corridors among member states — corridors integrating rail, road, and maritime transport — and joint bilateral and multilateral initiatives undertaken by ECO countries.""Another key agenda item was the digitization and integration of transport documents, particularly in road transport. This initiative plays a crucial role in facilitating transport, reducing transit times, and accelerating commercial exchanges," she underscored.Symbolic ECO transit train departs from AprinConcurrently with the ECO meeting, the symbolic ECO transit train departed from Tehran's rail dry port, known as Aprin, to demonstrate Iran’s pivotal role in regional transit and member states’ serious commitment to transit development, said the managing director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI).  Jabbar Ali Zakeri said, "This symbolic train is part of active ECO transit trains currently traversing Iranian territory. Today, we aimed to tangibly showcase the positive outcomes of decisions made in transit cooperation to ECO member ministers and representatives."According to Sadeq, “This train holds great significance as a symbol of joint projects and their implementation." The train, which had departed from Turkey and proceeded to Aprin, Iran, then will reach Turkmenistan and onward to Central Asia. (ICE TEHERAN)

Fonte notizia: IRAN DAILY