Iran and Iraq signed an agreement on carrying out a long awaited Basra-Shalamche railway project which is part of the rail network to link the two countries.
The agreement was signed in Baghdad Between Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Rostam Qassemi and his Iraqi counterpart.
The two ministers agreed to start implementing the project within the next month.
The Iranian minister said that Iran and Iraq have been in talks for nearly 20 years about implementing the railway project and have even signed agreements which were never helpful.
Qassemi however said that the present agreement includes a specific timing.
He said that based on the terms of the agreement, the railway companies of Iran and Iraq have to set up a joint company to carry out the project.
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.