MNA � At the first meeting of the Iran-France Joint Transport Working Group, the two sides reviewed previous contracts for the purchase of Airbus and ATR.


According to Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Iran and France held their first meeting of their joint transportation working group today January 15. The meeting was jointly chaired by Iranian Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan and Christian Esse Ei who is the representative of the French Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne and a member of the France's Council for Ecology and Sustainable Development.

At the meeting, the two sides discussed 10 issues related to air, maritime, rail and road areas. These included:

� �Reviewing Airbus aircraft purchase contracts and ATR between both parties and how�to implement them.
� �A review of the radar purchasing agreement between the company "Thales" in France and the Iran Airports Company and Iranian air fleet.
� �A contract between Iranian and French meteorological organizations for the purchase of software and the upgrading of meteorological systems.
� �Educational cooperation between the Iran�s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and French organizations.
� �Logistics and transit cooperation between the two countries for the transfer of goods from East Asia (China) to Western Europe and vice versa, as well as Iran becoming a "logistics hub".
� �Examining railway requests and needs for purchase of railway components and equipment.
� �Marine and maritime partnerships between the two sides and identifying areas of bilateral cooperation.
� �Negotiation of current and future cooperation in the field of road transport and purchasing intelligent frequency compliance systems ETC and conducting feasibility study in cooperation of French consulting engineers.
� �Cooperation of the French companies with the Imam Khomeini Airport Town Company and cooperation in relation to the airports in Mashhad and Isfahan.

Expressing his optimism about the positive outcome of the joint working group's meeting, Fakhrieh Kashan said, �A roadmap was especially designed for discussion during the French Transport Minister�s envoy�s visit to Iran, which we hope will be finalized during his stay in Iran.�

The French official�said that French transport minister has charged him the task of elevating the level cooperation between Iran and France.