MNA � Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi described Iran-Uzbekistan cooperation in the field of railway transport as very good, adding Iran will reduce the Uzbekistan cotton transportation cost to Iran�s southern ports by 40%.


Abbas Akhoundi made the remarks in a meeting with his Uzbek counterpart as well as Bokhara�s provincial governor during his official visit to the Central Asian country.

�There are good relations between Iran and Uzbekistan in the field of railway transport,� Akhoundi said, adding more than 40% reductions on Uzbekistan cotton transportation cost was offered during the meeting.

He said that during the Uzbekistan first deputy prime minister�s trip to Tehran, �the two sides decided to facilitate transportation relations, and the ways to develop air, rail and land relations were also discussed.

The Iranian road minister expressed hope that the conditions for road transport between the two countries will become easier than before, adding �Iranian Shahid Rajaee, Imam Khomeini and Shahid Beheshti ports are ready to provide their logistical facilities to Uzbek parties.�

He described the two countries' air transport negotiations as going ahead well and said "we hope that direct flights between Tehran and Tashkent will begin as soon as possible.

He noted that the relations between Iran and Uzbekistan will probably rise in the fields of transportation and tourism, adding �about 10 million Iranian tourists travel to Turkey, Georgia, Russia and other countries around the world through air and land, despite the fact that the Iranian people know more about the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent than Turkish cities.�

The Iranian minister further said "if the two governments provide more facilities to transportation and tourism sections, the two nations will establish broader relations with each other as soon as possible, and this will be in the interests of the two countries."

Referring to the cooperation between Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Akhoundi said �these two countries and the ADB have started good planning, which Iran is very pleased with, and we hope that the plans will become operational soon.�