Muscat – Oman and Iran have expressed their desire to enhance cooperation in transport and logistics sector through multi-modal transport network.

In an official session of talks between Oman and Iran in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Thursday, H E Eng Said bin Hamoud bin Said al Ma’awali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, discussed a range of topics with Mehrdad Bazrpash, Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Iran.

They weighed plans for cooperation in maritime, rail, air and road related transport networks. Iran proposed a comprehensive transportation agreement, which as an idea was approved by H E Ma’awali, and now needs to be ratified by the Iranian parliament.

In the maritime sector, launching direct shipping lines between the ports of Iran and Oman, particularly between Bandar Abbas and Shinas Port, was emphasised with the purpose of boosting commercial activities.

They further underscored the need for deeper coordination between the ports of the two countries to support trade and investment.

The two sides stressed the importance of utilising the investment opportunities available in the maritime and air transport sectors, as well as areas related to the logistics.

The two ministers also discussed plans to facilitate export and import from Central Asia to Oman through Iran under the Ashgabat Agreement.

Signed in 2011, the agreement offers a multimodal transport deal among Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, India, Pakistan, and Oman for creating an international transport and transit corridor in order to facilitate the transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Sea of Oman. The agreement came into force in April 2016.

Thursday’s session was attended by a number of officials from both sides.