June 28, The Iran Project � Head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations has announced that the Islamic Republic is ready to play an effective role in implementing the Silk Road Project.


Speaking at the 2nd Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) which was held in Beijing, Kamal Kharrazi said given that Iran is one of the 65 countries that is located on the land and sea routes of China's One Belt One Road initiative, the country is fully ready to play an effective role in running the project.

Regardless of Iran-China's historical relations, Iran is located between the two geostrategic regions of the Persian Gulf, Central Asia and the Caucasus, and on the other hand, between East and West Asia, so it has a unique role in connecting Asian countries, Kharrazi added.

Although with the relative decline of the old Silk Road, many of the countries located on its path were marginalized, Iran has continued to play its geopolitical role throughout history, he said, adding due to its geographic location, the country is of special importance in terms of the supply of oil and gas pipelines and the connection of electricity and telecommunications networks.

Head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations also noted that Tehran has major plans to provide regional communications, adding the north-south corridor, which facilitates the access of Indian Ocean and Oman Sea countries to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia by constructing a railroad between Chabahar and Sarakhs ports on the border of Turkmenistan is one such project.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to one of the goals of One Belt, One Road initiative as economic development and consequently regional security development, stressing that Iran is ready to use its full capacity to fight terrorism and develop security in this sensitive area.