Ukraine and Iran have signed a memorandum on cooperation on development of railway infrastructure. As the Ministry of Infrastructure told the CFTS portal, the document was signed in Kyiv on July 13 by Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian and Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Ali Noorzad.

The document provides for starting cooperation in the railway industry, particularly with the aim of implementing large-scale railway construction projects in Iran. The two sides will share experience of manufacture and laying of long continuous-welded rails, as well as communication and signaling systems. In addition, it provides for sharing scientific information about high-speed trains and new railway construction technologies.

"The memorandum on cooperation paves the way for a number of projects in the railway, road, maritime and aviation industries. In particular, the Iranian side has invited Ukraine to build 1,000 kilometers of railway in Iran, participate in projects worth USD 10 billion, which Teheran has allocated for modernization of railway infrastructure, development of inter-modal transport, and open joint ventures in the s country to enable Ukraine to enter markets in Gulf states," Omelian said.

The minister expressed the hope that Ukraine will be able to show its potential to Iran and that the two countries will start implementing specific projects.

Separately, he noted the prospects for cooperation on development of multimodal transport from Iran to the European Union via Ukraine.

"There could be good synergy if Ukrainian companies build railway and rail infrastructure in Iran and Iranian companies build roads in Ukraine. I myself was in Tehran, and the roads there are some of the best in the world. Therefore, involvement of Iranian companies offers Ukraine a good opportunity to change the quality of its roads," said Omelian. 

The two sides also discussed issues of cooperation in the aviation and maritime transport industries.

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