Iran and Turkey have agreed to begin constructing a new joint rail link to serve as a strategic gateway between Asia and Europe, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday.

The planned route, known in Iran as the Marand–Cheshmeh Soraya railway transit line and running towards Turkey's Aralik border region, will cover around 200 kilometres (120 miles}.

It will cost roughly $1.6 billion and is expected to take three to four years to complete, Iranian authorities have said.

Earlier this month, Iran's transport minister Farzaneh Sadegh said the rail line would transform the southern section of what was once the Silk Road into an "all-rail corridor ensuring the continuity of the network between China and Europe".

It would also ensure "fast and cheap transport of all types of cargo with minimal stops", she added.

At a joint press conference on Saturday with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Araghchi said "emphasis was placed on the need to remove barriers to trade and investment between the two countries".