Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 31
By Farhad Daneshvar – Trend:
In case Iran and Uzbekistan finalize a deal on the exports of oil, railways will defiantly play a key role in delivering the crude consignments, a senior official with the Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran (RAI) told Trend.
Nourollah Beiranvand, the deputy for planning and investment at the Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran (RAI), expressed readiness of the RAI to carry oil consignments between Iran and Uzbekistan, adding that the RAI would consider especial discounts for carrying these shipments to the Central Asian country.
The Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran plans to transit more than two million tons of freight between Iran and Central Asian countries over the current fiscal year starting March 20, he added.
The volume of transit of freight between Iran and the Central Asian countries has grown by 50 percent over the first half of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of time last year.
Earlier in October, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh discussed plans for exporting Iran’s oil to the Central Asian country.
Bijan Namdar Zanganeh speculated that the export of Iran’s oil to Uzbekistan would take place through railways.
In the meantime, President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iran was fully ready to assist Uzbekistan in meeting its energy needs.