Tehran, Kiev review expansion of maritime relations

Iran and Ukraine discussed ways to promote maritime and port relations between the two countries.

Managing Director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran Mohammad Saeednejad in a meeting with visiting Head of Ukraine delegation Viktor Yanukovych pointed to the route linking Mumbai Port in India to the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf and thence to ports in Ukraine as a cheap, fast and short way to transfer goods, Fars News Agency reported.

He also called for expanding sisterhood ties between port cities in Iran and Ukraine. "By doing so, the two countries will be able to begin comprehensive talks on enhancing maritime ties, transferring technical know-how, education and investment," Saeednejad added.

An Iranian delegation from Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran is scheduled to visit Ukraine next month, he said.

Yanukovych said that negotiations are underway on using Ukraine as a transit route to access China and East Asia.

He expressed Kiev's readiness to supply railroad equipment, including rail road switches, rails, locomotives and wagons to Iran.

In early March, Iranian Agricultural Jihad Minister Mahmoud Hojjati and Ukrainian Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk in a meeting in Kiev signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to broaden cooperation between the two countries.

The MoU was signed in a ceremony at the end of the Sixth Joint Economic Commission meeting in the Ukrainian capital.

The MoU covered agriculture, investment, finance, trade, chamber of commerce, industry, mine and steel production, machinery, geology, banking, oil, gas, petrochemical, transport, tourism, health, sport, communication and engineering consultant services.

During his four-day visit to Ukraine, Hojjati, who was accompanied by a 40-member delegation, visited a number of manufacturing plants, institutes and farms.