Islamabad, IRNA — A few months after the successful launch of the Road Corridor project among the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey which are the main founders of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the three countries are set to resume the ECO freight train to promote trade and regional connectivity after the gap of ten years.
The ECO freight train, called the Tehran-Istanbul-Islamabad railway project, is set to start its journey at a ceremony in Islamabad on Tuesday with the presence of senior officials from Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.
The decision to resume train was taken at the tenth high-level meeting of the working group of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul railway communication project called ‘ECO train’ in December last year.
After the recent visit of Adviser to Prime Minister of Pakistan for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood to Iran and the ninth meeting of the Joint Trade Committee, officials of the two neighboring countries stressed the mutual determination and readiness to develop the ECO corridor, especially the resumption of container train between Tehran, Islamabad and Istanbul.
The inauguration ceremony of the ECO freight train between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan is scheduled to take place this afternoon in the presence of the Pakistani Minister of Railways and Commerce, as well as the Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan at Margalla Railway Station in Islamabad.
According to the recent trade agreements between Iran and Pakistan as the main founders of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the resumption of the ECO freight train is a step towards regional communication between the three countries, facilitating trade and public transportation for the long-term economic benefits of the region.
The ECO container train officially started operating in 2009 according to the tripartite agreement between Islamabad, Tehran and Ankara, and the first train left Islamabad for Turkey via Iran on August 14 of the same year (August 23, 2009).
The train continued to operate until December 2011. The Pakistani government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Turkish Railways in November 2013 to resume freight train traffic between the two countries with the aim of boosting trade, but there is no word yet on whether it will resume operations.
Azam Khan Swati, Pakistan’s Minister of Railways during a meeting with the Ambassador of Iran in November said that Pakistan is making serious efforts to improve trade relations with Iran.
Ambassador Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini also stressed the need to modernize the Quetta-Taftan railway line in Pakistan with the aim of accelerating bilateral trade activities, improving railway cooperation, and launching the ECO container train.
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
