BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 10. TRACECA International Organization is interested in the inclusion of the Zangezur Corridor in its route network, TRACECA's permanent representative in Azerbaijan Rufat Bayramov told Trend in an exclusive interview.
Bayramov emphasized that the TRACECA organization has an understanding that the Zangezur Corridor is very significant and necessary.
"Within the framework of our international program, immediately after the end of the 44-day Karabakh war, a small analysis was conducted, the results of which demonstrated that TRACECA as an international organization is interested in the inclusion of the Zangezur Corridor in the network of its routes," he said.
According to Bayramov, the emergence of transport corridors with the involvement of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan is important both from the point of view of the development of the Autonomous Republic itself, and from the point of view of stimulating cargo transportation and trade of regional and international importance.
The permanent representative considers that the corridor can give a great impulse to transportation in the "Türkiye - Central Asia" and "Türkiye - Azerbaijan"directions, in the northern and other directions.
In his opinion, Azerbaijan's discussion of transport projects with Iran and increasing the capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway route (one of the official routes of the TRACECA program) testify to the important transit role of the region.
"There is no such thing as too many roads. There is demand for the routes being discussed and implemented," he stated.
Bayramov noted that in 2024 TRACECA will be chaired by Iran, which is vitally interested in developing routes through Azerbaijan and further in various directions.
He added that Iran and Russia have reached an agreement that Russia will contribute to the construction of a 160-kilometer-long section of the Resht (IRI)-Astara (Iran-Azerbaijan border) railroad within the framework of an interstate loan. This road could be completed in 2027 and will become an important component of the international North-South corridor as well as the regional transportation networks.
Russia has agreed to provide Iran with a $1.3 billion soft loan to build the Resht-Astara railroad over four years at the end of 2023 (starting construction in 2024).