Acceleration of Basra-Shalamcheh railway project, joining Iran to Iraq, was one of the main agendas of a Sunday meeting between Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Khorramshahr-Basra railway stretches 44 kilometers from southwestern Iran to Iraq, 12 kilometers of which from Khorramshahr to Shalamche has been completed by the Iranian side, but the Iraqi side has failed to carry out the Shalamche-Basra part within the Iraqi soil.
Once completed, the railway will connect Iran to the East Mediterranean countries.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Iraqi prime minister, President Raeisi said that the Iraqi prime minister has ordered the related Iraqi officials to give a boost to the strategic railway project.
The map shows the distance between Iran's Shalamcheh and Iraq's Basra.
Raisi hailed the cordial relations between Iran and Iraq, noting that bilateral relations between the two countries can further increase in all areas.
He said that relations between Iran and Iraq are not limited to the two countries and rather affect regional and international equations.
The president said that al-Kadhimi had talked about the cancelation of visa requirements between the two countries which he said was good news.