Rouhani Calls on Baghdad to Cooperate on Completion of Iran-Iraq Railway

“The Shalamcheh-Basra railway is ready to come on stream and the Iranian side is ready to carry out its side of the project, we need measures by Iraq’s Ministry of Finance to complete the project,” President Rouhani said in a meeting with Iran’s Road Ministry officials.
The Iranian president reiterated that this project (Iran-Iraq railway) is extremely important and it should be fully implemented.
President Rouhani described the development of rail transportation as a priority for people’s safety and convenience, and said, “Iran also aims to connect Khorramshahr-Basra railway which has many significant aspects, especially for Iranian pilgrims.
“Our connections with the neighboring countries are very important, specially at the time of sanctions,” the Iranian president added.
President Hassan Rouhani said Iran and Iraq can boost economic transactions to $20 billion through further cooperation and an $8 billion increase in the volume of bilateral trade.
In relevant remarks in early November, Deputy head of Iran Railways company, Mazyar Yazdani said that President Rouhani had ordered to start constructing the railway line from the Iranian port of Shalamcheh to the city of Basra in Iraq.
Yazdani explained that the Shalamcheh-Basra railway line will be 32-kilometer-long and will cost 2200 billion rials.
According to the Iranian official, Tehran will construct the railway line in Iran and Iraq and give it as a gift to Iraq but the Iraqi side has to cover the construction expenses later.
According to Yazdani after the project is completed, there will be a rail line between Iran, Iraq and Syria that extends to the port of Lattakia on the Mediterranean
Sea.
Iran has been trying to counter the repercussions of the sanctions imposed by the United States on Monday by relying on its regional network of relations, specially in Iraq and Syria.