Moscow: The CEO of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, Jabbar-Ali Zakeri, has emphasized the importance of enhanced rail, transit, and logistical cooperation among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Zakeri made these remarks during the 5th meeting of the heads of railways from SCO member countries held in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday. According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Zakeri proposed organizing a trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan to standardize tariffs and enhance freight transportation. Additionally, he suggested forming an expert working group to identify issues, eliminate obstacles and challenges in border areas, assess routes not connected to existing rail networks, and develop a financial model to attract necessary investment for the construction of these routes. Zakeri highlighted that Iran, given its strategic position as a bridge between East and West Asia and as a connecting route between Europe and Asia, aims to streng then partnerships and cooperation in transit and logistics with SCO member countries. He described the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in transportation and transit as crucial, underlining the importance of promoting east-west and north-south transit routes passing through Iran. He identified the North-South Intercontinental Corridor, which includes the Southern Belt Pass connecting China to Europe, the Almaty-Bandar Abbas Pass, the Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul Rail Pass, and the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Corridor, as one of the most important rail crossings. Zakeri noted that Iran Railways is working to enhance international crossings from Iran by improving conditions, facilitating logistics, and increasing the capacity necessary for transporting goods from China, Russia, and Central Asian countries to Iran, India, Pakistan, and Europe. Furthermore, Zakeri emphasized the significance of the North-South Corridor as a major rail transportation project, mentioning that high-level negotiations are currently ongoing between the Iranian and Russian governments to complete the Rasht-Astara railway line in Iran. Elsewhere in his remarks, Zakeri described the Zahedan-Chabahar railway project as one of the largest and most strategic railway initiatives in Iran. He noted that upon its completion, Iran's railway network will connect to a key oceanic port in the southeast on the coast of the Oman Sea. This connection will facilitate the transportation and transit of goods from India to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries via the Iranian rail network.