Iran, Russia Agree To Boost Railroad Cooperation
Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Massoud Karbasian and the director general of the Russian Energy Agency (REA), Anatoly Tikhonov, agreed to enhance cooperation between the two sides in various projects, including the Garmsar-Inche Bouroun railroad.
“RZD International representatives as a part of the Russian delegation headed by Anatoly Tikhonov, Director General of the Russian Energy Agency (REA) of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, paid a working visit to Tehran on May 9, 2018,” the RZD said in a press release on Thursday.
During the visit, the delegation negotiated with Karbasian, who is also the co-chairman of the Intergovernmental Russian-Iranian Commission, and representatives of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The parties discussed a number of topical issues of bilateral cooperation, including the project for electrification of 495 km-long Garmsar-Inche Bouroun line, which the Iranian side had earlier proposed to the Russian colleagues for implementation, according to the press release.
The RZD International representatives informed the minister about the completion of all formal procedures by the Russian side under the pre-contractual obligations of Garmsar-Inche Bouroun project.
During the meeting, Karbasian said that the official application for the acceptance of the contract worth 1.2 billion euro for financing was signed and would be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation shortly.
In the session, Director General of RZD International Sergey Pavlov and representatives of Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development discussed preparations for the start of Garmsar-Inche Bouroun electrification project, which is scheduled for July 2018.
In addition, the Iranian side confirmed the interest in developing bilateral cooperation by outlining perspective projects and spheres in railroad sector, including initiatives mentioned in the Memorandum on strategic cooperation on railway electrification signed between the Russian Railways and RAI on March 28, 2017, the RZD said in the press release.
