Mehrdad Bazrpash made the remarks at the inauguration ceremony of the construction of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway on Saturday. 

“The construction of the Shalamcheh to Basra railway was not materialized for about 40 years due to many reasons, but today the implementation of this project started [in a ceremony] with the participation of the first vice president of Iran and the prime minister of Iraq,” the road minister said.

Bazrpash expressed hope that the project would be completed in the shortest possible time. 

It was agreed that the necessary lands around the Arvand River would be provided to Iran for the construction of the bridge, and the Iraqi side committed to expedite this process , he added. 

According to Bazrpash, an agreement has been reached with Syria to establish rail connectivity with the country as well.

The Iranian minister stated that following today’s agreements and in the context of developing relations, a trilateral agreement between Iran, Iraq, and Syria will be put on the agenda.

Shalamcheh-Basra Railway marks a historical link as negotiations for a 32 km railway between Iran and Iraq have been ongoing for about 20 years.

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