Jabbar Ali Zakeri, Deputy Minister for Roads and Urban Development of Iran, Chair of Board and President of Railways of Islamic Republic, given the proximity of Iran, Afghanistan, and China, called for connecting the railways of the three countries.
Zakeri said that since this proximity reduces the cost of transit and shortens the route, Iran is proposing a trilateral meeting.
In a meeting with Mohammad Ishaq Sahibzada, Deputy Minister of Public Works and head of the Taliban's Railway Authority, Zakeri referred to the determination of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways to help Afghanistan's railways, saying, "The existence of the railway in the northwest of Afghanistan and its proximity to the common border with Iran is a great opportunity for transit between the two countries."
Emphasising on the importance of completing the Herat rail axis based on a specific timeline, Zakeri said, "This line can shorten the transit route and reduce its cost."
Regarding the transportation of goods through the railway between Iran and Afghanistan, he said that many of the problems faced by the Iran-Afghanistan railway consortium have now been solved and currently three trains are running on the designated route per week.
The Taliban's deputy minister of public works also said that according to assessments, there is a good load capacity on the China-Afghanistan-Iran route and Afghanistan is fully prepared to take the necessary steps along with Iran in this direction.
Training of Afghan Railway Staff
Referring to the training courses held for Afghan railway employees in the past years, Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development said that due to the Taliban's request, a third training course for railway employees will be held in person soon.
The head of the Taliban's Railway Authority also thanked the training programmes for 96 Afghan railway employees and called for a third round of training for Afghan railway employees.
According to IRNA, the Taliban official also announced engineering studies for the construction of the Zaranj-Kandahar railway route, which will open a new chapter of cooperation and trade exchanges between the two countries by connecting this railway line to Zabul.
