Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani laid on Saturday the foundation stone of a railway between his country and neighboring Iraq.
A ceremony was held at the Shalamja border crossing with Iran in the southern Basra province in Iraq. Present at the event was Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, underscoring the importance of the occasion.
The establishment will be a milestone in the transport of travelers and visitors of holy sites from Iran and central Asian countries.
Baghdad and Tehran agreed to establish the railway in 2021.
Mokhber told Iranian media that he expects the volume of trade between the neighbors to witness a “massive leap” after the completion of the railway connection between Basra and Shalamja.
He said the project will be complete within the next two years, adding that it consolidates relations between Iraq and Iran.
Sudani has said that the railway will be limited to the transport of travelers, but Mokhber’s remarks revealed that Iran aims to transport goods, a move opposed by Iraqi political circles given its impact on operations at Iraq’s Grand Faw Port.
Iraq is planning to kick off the implementation of the Development Road plan that stretches from Basra, where the port is located, to Iraq’s northern-most point. It would then pass through Türkiye, then Europe. Over a billion dollars have been spent on the project.
An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the railway connection agreement was signed during the term of Iraqi former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
It stressed that the railway will be restricted to the transport of travelers, not goods.
Moreover, the railway carriages are not designed to carry goods, only passengers, it added.
