TEHRAN (ECOIDEAL)- Azeri Ambassador to Tehran Bonyad Hosseinov described Iran as the most efficient and cost-effective route for transit of goods from his country to other regional states.
"Iran's transit route in comparison to other routes is much economic and is 40 percent cheaper in terms of costs and 60 percent shorter in terms of time," the Azeri envoy said.
The Azeri diplomat underlined that the commodities are shipped from Mumbai in India to Iran's Bandar Abbas on the Southern coast of Persian Gulf and then transited to Azerbaijan's Astara and then Russia," Hosseinov said while elaborating on the low cost of Iran's transit routes.
He said that if the two countries' railways are connected, commodities loaded on trains in Bandar Abbas can be easily transferred to Europe and Russia.
Hosseinov also referred to electricity swap contract between Iran and Azerbaijan, and said that Iran as a large country can help his respective country to export its electricity to other countries.
He said Tehran-Baku cooperation is not limited to their bilateral ties, and there have been trilateral and multilateral agreements between the two neighboring countries with other partners in the region, including Georgia, Russia and Turkey.
In relevant remarks on Tuesday, a senior official announced that a railway linking Iran's Northern cities to Baku and Nakhchivan in the Republic of Azerbaijan would launch operation in the near future.
"Based on an agreement signed by presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan, Baku-Nakhchivan railway will pass through Iran soon," Head of Azerbaijan Railways Javid Gurbanov said.
Gurbanov said that grounds have been paved for launching passenger trains.
The Azeri official reiterated that the railway is 1,450 km from Baku to Nakhvchivan and it passes through Iran.
"Stadler trains will be used for this railway route," he noted.
Stadler Rail AG, also known as Stadler Rail Group, is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams. Stadler is headquartered in Bussnang, Switzerland.
Source: Farsnews