Al-Sudani arrives in Basra to inaugurate key joint project with Iran

Shafaq News/ Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Saturday arrived at the Shalamcheh border crossing in the southern governorate of Basra to inaugurate a railway project with neighboring Iran.

A government source told Shafaq News Agency that al-Sudani will lay the foundation stone for a long-anticipated railway project between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Social media users shared video snippets showing heaving security deployment at the Shalamcheh border crossing to secure the ceremony.

The recent arrival of al-Sudani in Basra was preempted by statements last Tuesday from a government official, confirming the Prime Minister's intended visit to this strategic location.

Earlier, Iraq's Transport Minister made a diplomatic visit to Tehran, Iran's capital, to deliberate on the particulars of the railway project catering to passenger transit between the two countries.

The bilateral agreement encompasses initiatives to clear landmines planted during the eight-year conflict (1980-1988) along the shared border territories. Moreover, plans are underway to construct a retractable bridge over the Shatt al-Arab waterway (north of Basra) with an ambitious completion timeline of a year and a half.