IRU’s Secretary General has met a delegation from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss road transport and transit in Iran and in the region in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto welcomed Iran’s proactive initiatives on transport and transit facilitation in the region, such as the activation of new corridors crossing the country, and its extensive work on the digitalisation of transport documents and procedures, including TIR system.
Umberto de Pretto also welcomed the recent approval by Iran’s parliament of the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR Convention). This will increase road transport safety and facilitate the access of Iranian fleet carrying dangerous goods to the global market.
Because of Iran’s central geographical position, it is an important transit country connecting East and West, and North and South. Both parties discussed opening new corridors crossing the country under the TIR system, and listed areas of cooperation between IRU and Iran to improve their efficiency. They also agreed on the potential of regional organisations, such as the Economic Cooperation Organization, to serve as platforms to enhance connectivity and regional trade, in particular through public–private partnerships.
Seyed Jalaledin Alavi Sabzevari, Director General for Multilateral and International Economic Cooperation of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted the significance of road and multimodal transport in Iran's regional and international trade and transit policy and welcomed IRU’s support on facilitating transport and transit.
He said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs attaches great importance to transit and has established a National Task Force for Transport and Transit Diplomacy, which includes all relevant public and private stakeholders, and addresses issues related to transit and border crossing.”
According to Iranian Customs, transit through the country grew by 68% last year, and by 39% in the first two months of this year, which could represent a total of over 15 million tons of foreign goods passing through the country this year.