Speeches: Ahmad Khorram, Minister of Road and Transport of the Islamic Republic of Iran

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by H.E. Mr. Ahmad Khorram
Minister of Road and Transport of the Islamic Republic of Iran

October 2003, Tehran

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Distinguished Representatives of the National and International Organizations,
Distinguished Delegations,
Honorable Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I seize this opportunity to welcome you all to the second International Conference of Euro-Asian Road Transport. I wish you a pleasant and fruitful stay in this historic land, the ancient country of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Given the significant geographical position of Iran there is no doubt that this Conference can play an important role in facilitating exchange of information as well as experiences and achievements of the countries, thereby creating a sound environment for cooperation and collaboration.

The Iranian civilization should be traced beyond its current geographical borders. This civilization stretched out from Plateau of Anatolia and Armenia into the Indus River in the Indian Peninsula, which included Mesopotamia, Transoxania and western Chinese border. Three thousands years ago, Iranians paved the way for better cultural dialogue and economic transactions among nations through developing transit routes. The Silk Road in the past and the North-South Corridor today are an eloquent testimony to aforementioned Iranian contribution. In the eve of the third millennium, Iranians send this message to the world that the human being needs, more than ever, sustainable development, friendship and peace. In the era of technology and information, no country can secure its own economic interests by itself. Accordingly, transport is instrumental for common-interests based cooperation.

Distinguished Participants,

Road transport in Iran, with 1.5 million job opportunities, accounts for 9.7 percent of the overall added values in transport sector of the Country. The dominant mode of transport in Iran is road transport, which provides for more than 90 percent of the goods shipment and passengers movement.

Last year, 298 million tonnes of goods, 390 million passengers and 4.8 million tonnes of transit goods were carried across the Country, showing a remarkable increase in comparison with the year before. Renovation of goods and passengers vehicles, ongoing for several years now, has brought about important developments in this sector. Along the same line, improving and expansion of the roads infrastructure, particularly in the context of the North-South Corridor, is also well under way.

Distinguished Guests,

In the context of the 3rd Five Years Development Plan (by 2004), the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to take the following measures to develop transport sector, in particular road transport:

• Exploring the opportunities arising from the geographical location of the Country for the purpose of the transit boost and improving the regional and international cooperation,
• Privatization and attraction of the domestic and foreign investment in the various transport-related activities and infrastructures,
• Improving the safety level and providing necessary facilitations for domestic and international transport as well as lifting the services quality,
• Giving priority to the maintenance and renovation of the infrastructure through implementation of the new projects and enhancement of the infrastructure,
• Expansion of the commercial activities and marketing in the transport sector, particularly at the international level,
• Expansion of the multi-modal and container transport, keeping the sense of proportion between modes of transport as regards passengers' movement and goods shipment, and helping rail transport utilize existing capacities with a view to taking greater role in transport,
• Renovation of the vehicles through application of new technologies in the different transport sub-sectors,
• Enhancing the role of special economic zones, and promoting their input to the cargo and passengers transit.

Using modern trucks and utilizing advance technologies, road transport is expected to provide quick, cheap, door-to-door, safe and secure services. This Conference should focus on the Euro-Asian cooperation in the area of transport, taking into account the geographical specificity. I remain confident that IRU assistance and cooperation will contribute to the betterment of the road transport situation in developing countries. Today, trade along the Silk Road and North-South Corridor constitutes a very important contribution to the economic cooperation among Asian and European countries.

In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to the International Road Union, its President and Secretary General Mr. Paul Laermens and Mr. Martin Marmy; the Organization of the Transport and Terminals; Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines; as well as the Iranian Association for the International Transport Companies for their efforts in organizing this important conference. Once again I wish all distinguished guests a pleasant stay in Iran.

Thank You.

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