Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 26
Trend:
Azerbaijani delegation led by minister of economy, co-chairman of the State Commission for Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in the economic, trade and humanitarian spheres Shahin Mustafayev and the Iranian delegation led by Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami viewed the construction progress of the cargo handling terminal in Iran’s Astara city, as well as the territory where a new bridge will be built across the Astarachay River, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijan’s Economy Ministry Dec. 26.
The cargo handling terminal is located on a plot of 35 hectares, and the construction is carried out in two stages. The 1,400-meter railway between the Astarachay River and the Kamarbandi Bridge, the Bakhchasaray Bridge and the roadway over the Kamardandi Bridge with the length of 1,440 meters in the direction of Ardabil and Rasht cities have already been commissioned.
In general, construction and installation work is scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Azerbaijani and Iranian delegations examined the area where the bridge will be built across the Astarachay River. The length of the bridge will be 100 meters and the width will be 18 meters.
During the meeting of the Azerbaijani delegation with the Iranian delegation, Shahin Mustafayev stressed that cooperation between the two countries has further expanded in recent years. In the past five years alone, 12 meetings were held between the heads of Azerbaijan and Iran, and over 100 reciprocal visits were made, he said.
More than 700 Iranian companies operating in the fields of industry, construction, services, communications, trade, transport and agriculture were registered in Azerbaijan, he said. The trade turnover between the two countries increased by 18 percent in 2017 and by 73 percent in January-September this year, he added.
As part of joint Azerbaijani-Iranian projects, cars are produced in the Neftchala industrial park, an Azerbaijani-Iranian clinic opened in Baku, and a joint pharmaceutical plant will be built in the Pirallahi industrial park, he said.
In turn, Mohammad Eslami noted that Iran attaches particular importance to expanding ties with Azerbaijan, and measures have been taken to develop Iranian-Azerbaijani relations. Eslami also said that the regular visit of the Azerbaijani delegation to Iran will contribute to the development of relations between the countries, in particular, to the expansion of cooperation in the transport and transit sphere.
During the meeting, the sides discussed trade and economic ties, expansion of cooperation in the transport and transit sphere and the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor.