Sudan has asked for Iran's help and experience in expanding the country's rail ways, deputy minister of Sudan's transportation ministry, Hassan Mousa Sheikh Assafi, was quoted as saying by the Iranian News Agency (IRNA).
His remarks came during a meeting Monday with officials at Iran's ministry of roads and transportation, said the agency.
The Sudanese official is on a visit to the Islamic republic to attend a conference on the `Role Played by Governments in Expansion of International Corridors for Transportation of Goods,' said IRNA.
"My country has borders with nine African countries and therefore, the construction of railways and their expansion can play an essential role in providing the favorable ground for expansion of Sudan's relations with them," Assafi said.
The Sudanese officials also asked for arrangements to train his country's railways personnel at the Iranian Railway Organization.
For his part, Iran's minister of roads and transportation, Rahman Dadman, announced Iran's readiness to broaden cooperation in the field of transportation with Sudan. He stressed that Iran is ready to construct infrastructure facilities at Sudanese ports.
In January, Sudan announced it had reached an agreement with Ethiopia to build a railway line linking the two countries from Port Sudan to Ethiopia's southern-most town of Moyale.
Sudanese officials said local and foreign partnerships would be sought to finance the project, which they estimated would cost the equivalent of about 1.5 billion dollars -- Albawaba.com
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