Iran, Kazakhstan to build joint shipping company

Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) Mohammad Saeidi announced the news in a Monday interview with official news agency IRNA, noting that the two countries signed an agreement on the establishment of the joint shipping company in the presence of their presidents in Tehran.

The IRISL chief noted that the planned freight shipping line would boost bilateral trade through the Iranian port of Bandar Anzali and Kazakh port of Aktau, both on the Caspian Sea.

Iran and Kazakhstan also decided to increase their volume of rail transport through a railroad that links Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

On Monday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani received his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in the Iranian capital city where the two oversaw the signing of a number of agreements in different areas.

Rouhani said Iranian and Kazakh officials signed 66 documents for cooperation, worth two billion dollars, in the public and private sectors, adding that the agreements mark a “turning point” in mutual relations.

He noted that Tehran and Astana would strengthen cooperation in different fields of economy, agriculture, science, culture, technology and communications.

The Iranian president added that bilateral cooperation in the Caspian Sea including marine transportation, tourism and the determination of the landlocked lake’s legal status were also discussed during talks with the Kazakh leader.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Nazarbayev arrived in Tehran earlier in the day to discuss ways to improve mutual relations and the latest regional and international developments.