Asaad Abdulameer Al Eidani met and held talks with Mohammad Kazem Ale-Sadegh on Wednesday to open the rail project between Iraq and Iran.
In this meeting, the two sides announced the plan to connect the Basra railway to Shalamcheh on the Iranian side of the border.
They also discussed the most important bilateral developments.
Razak Muhibis Al-Saadawi, Iraq Minister of Transport, visited Tehran to meet with Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Mehrdad Bazrpash earlier this year on April 6 in order to confer on the implementation of Shalamcheh-Basra Railway.
According to a report by the Iranian Ministry of Road And Urban Development, Iran and Iraq top officials signed the agreement for Shalamcheh-Basra Railway on 26 December 2021. However, after agreement, there were a number of problems for construction in the territory of Iraq including demining of land in Iraq, land acquisition along the project, and also construction of a bridge over the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand River). Nevertheless, determination of the two countries led to proper arrangements for implementation particularly during the Iran-Iraq Joint Economic Commission in so far as Iraq has already predicted this project in its 2023 budget.
Shalamcheh-Basra Railway marks a historical link as negotiations for a 32 km railway between Iran and Iraq had been ongoing for about the last 20 years.
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