President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Trade (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei said on Sunday that effort are underway by rival countries to take Iran’s place in international transit corridors.
He noted that these efforts are made while Iran is missing its huge chances in the area of transit.
Shafei, who was speaking during a meeting with the members of Transportation and Transit Commission of Mashhad Chamber of Commerce in northeastern Iran, said that the rival countries are spending huge amounts of money to replace Iran in international transit.
It seems that Iran has not prioritized enough the transportation sector so as to be compatible with the potentials of this sector, Shafei said.
President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Trade (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei (center) is seen during a meeting with the members of Transportation and Transit Commission of Mashhad Chamber of Commerce in northeastern Iran on December 25, 2022.
He referred to a recent transit agreement between China and Turkey which he said seeks to merge Trans-Caspian Corridor into China’s Silk Road project.
Noting that Turkey has made different efforts to play a role in transfer of goods between the East and the West, the Iran Chamber of Commerce president said that once the Trans-Caspian Corridor is merged into the Silk Road project, it will become a rival for the China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor that passes through Iran.
He also said that in a recent visit to the Persian Gulf region, Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed transit routes and multimodal transit via Persian Gulf countries. Shafei regretted that Iran had no room in this plan.