BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 27
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Thanks to Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran's trade with other countries has increased in various fields, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran for Economic Affairs, Gholam Reza Ansari said at a meeting in the governor's office of Ardabil Province, Trend reports citing the governor office’s official website.
According to Ansari, the neighboring countries play a major role in Iran's exports.
He added that the joint borders between Iran and Azerbaijan are very important for Iran.
The deputy minister stressed that Iran should use the experience of developed countries in the field of agricultural exports.
Ansari noted that at present, 47 percent of Iran's exports are to neighboring countries, and it is possible to increase this volume by using the border provinces.
Speaking at the meeting, the governor of Ardabil Province, Akbar Behnamjoo also said that the establishment of a railway terminal in the Tazekand district of the Parsabad county in Iran's Ardabil Province will increase Iran's exports of agricultural goods to neighboring countries and Russia.
The governor emphasized that despite the closure of all border checkpoints in Iran in the early days of the spread of coronavirus pandemic, Iran's Bilasuvar border checkpoint continued to import and export of goods while following strict health protocols.
Behnamjoo said that Ardabil Province is one of the main provinces in the production of agricultural goods.
According to the statistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported $429 million worth of goods to Azerbaijan in the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019, to March 20, 2020).
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, borders with many countries have been closed, therefore, Iran's trade turnover with other countries reduced to a minimum. Iran has begun to increase trade with other countries with the gradual opening of border checkpoints since the end of June.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 365,600 people have been infected, and 21,020 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 314,800 have reportedly recovered from the disease.
The country continues to apply strict measures to contain further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.
The Islamic Republic announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.