ECONOMIC IDEAL –
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Senior officials from Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan are negotiating to fill water in the joint Khoda Afarin Dam and to elevate the oil and gas swap deal in cooperation with Turkmenistan.
In a meeting with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Saturday, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash pointed to the new conditions in the region and added that the idea of peace in the Caucasus promises the development of transit cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan based on the “Iran Road” initiative and planning for accelerating transit in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Bazrpash emphasized the importance of strengthening and developing transport-transit cooperation within the comprehensive, purposeful and forward-looking framework given the “Iran Road” initiative and reiterated that the transit initiative of “Iran Road” is consistent with the mega projects of the Republic of Azerbaijan and can open a new chapter of transit and logistics cooperation for both sides.
The comprehensive program of promoting transit of up to 15 million tons/year of goods has been targeted in the 2023 Vision, the roads minister noted.
The Aras Corridor from Aghband to Jolfa will be put into operation as the East-West Corridor in Iran in line with the initiative of “Iran Road”, he emphasized.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Bazrpash pointed to the tripartite statement between Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia in September 2022 entitled the “Baku Statement” with regard to the development of the INSTC and added that this statement entails considerable key backgrounds for constructive and progressive measures in line with the development of all-out cooperation.
The chairman of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Commission further stated that the growth of transit and development in logistics and its functional indexes is of paramount importance in the next five-year plan and a golden opportunity for the development of bilateral ties.
Bazrpash also stressed the promotion of oil and gas swap deal in cooperation with Turkmenistan.
Iran’s roads minister further discussed the issue of transport in the Astara-Astara project, constructing the Aghband Bridge, facilitating the transit of Iranian fleet in Azerbaijan and expanding cooperation in the field of Ro-Ro vessels in the Caspian Sea.