"We are trying to launch a direct train from China to Iran, which is a positive sign in the framework of supporting and strengthening membership in the Shanghai Organization for the transit and transportation sector," Amin Tarafo said in an interview with IRNA news agency regarding the benefits of Iran's membership in SCO.
Saying that Iran and the SCO member states are members of a similar transport framework, Tarafo noted that being a member of SCO can lay the grounds for increasing trade capacity between countries as well as cooperation in transport frameworks.
"The capacity of trade between countries increases when transportation and transit grows," he added.
He went on to say that there are two-way land and rail connections with other countries besides China and added, "In relation to increasing cooperation with China, we are trying to launch the direct train from China to Iran, which will originate from Shanghai."
"If this happens in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, all areas of transportation, including multilateral and bilateral transit, will be strengthened," he stressed.
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