TEHRAN, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami announced on Wednesday the Herat-Khaf railway between Iran and Afghanistan will be inaugurated at the end of the current Iranian month of Azar (Nov. 21-Dec. 20).
"We will inaugurate it at the end of this (Azar) month, with the presence of high-ranking officials of both countries," Eslami told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, as reported by state TV.
The operational stages of the Herat-Khaf project development are already finished, the minister announced.
He stressed the importance of the junction between Afghanistan's Herat and Iran's Khaf in terms of domestic freight and passenger transport.
Iran is aiming to maximize its transit options through "various opportunities" and routes existing in Afghanistan with East Asian countries as a "very important" target for Iran's trade and communications, Eslami said.
In a virtual meeting with his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Yamma Shams on Oct. 8, Eslami described the Herat-Khaf railway project as "the starting point and cornerstone for the development of strategic relations" between Iran and Afghanistan. Enditem