The First Meeting of the Permanent Working Group on KTI Railway Corridor

The First Meeting of the Permanent Working Group on KTI Railway Corridor (PWG-KTI) under the Chairmanship of the Turkmenistan was held virtually on December 27, 2021. The aim of the meeting was to review the latest development and to make recommendations on formulation of a roadmap regarding the promotion and commercialization of the KTI corridor. The meeting was attended by the delegations from Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan as well as officials of the ECO Secretariat.

Mr. Merdan Tashliev, Deputy Director of the “AOOT” “Demiryollary Turkmenistan, as the chair of the Meeting, in his opening statement welcomed the participants to the meeting and expressed gratitude to the ECO Secretariat for their constructive role for arranging this important meeting. Making his remarks, Mr. Merdan reassured that the meeting would benefit the participants and will pave the way for enhanced multilateral cooperation within the KTI en-route countries.

Mr. Akbar Khodaei, Director (T&C) congratulated the milestone achievement of signing the MoU on KTI by the railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan that will systematically contribute to the promotion of seamless and sustainable transport connectivity in the region. He mentioned that the Meeting would help to uplift collaboration among the enroute counties in the next phases, laying all necessary prerequisites for developing, for example, economic hubs/zones in the areas adjacent to border crossing points along KTI.

The “Memorandum of Understanding Among Railways of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Implementation of KTI Railway Freight Corridor” (singed on 26 November 2021 on the sidelines of the 15th ECO Summit in Ashgabat) envisages establishment of the Permanent Working Group comprised of the Heads of Railways or their representatives.