A new railway line is to link Iran and Turkey according to officials after a bilateral trade summit. Relations and trade between the two nations is improving steadily.

The new line is intended to improve bilateral trade. Currently this is worth USD $11.3bn annually with 143 Turkish businesses working in Iran. There have been customs issues between the two countries as they squabble over Turkish trucks passing through Iran to get to businesses in eastern Asia.

Iran is the second biggest natural gas supplier to Turkey after Russia. Turkey’s diplomatic relations with both Russia and Iran seem to be improving lately.

Such a railway line will significantly improve economic relations between Iran and Turkey. Iran is trying to position itself as a central Asian railway hub while Turkey has direct links with the European railway network. This link will form an overland link between the Far East and Europe, enabling Iran and Turkey to benefit from increasing intercontinental railway trade.

(Source: RAI)