Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 21
By Umid Niayesh- Trend:
Iran and Afghanistan will discuss boosting cooperation in air transport, Deputy Head of Iran's Aviation Organisation Mohammad Khoda Karami said, Iranian IRNA news agency reported on Jan. 21.
He went on to say that an Afghani delegation will visit Iran in the near future to talk about developing air transport cooperation and increasing flights.
Khoda Karami said that for the being time 15 flights are being operated per week between the two countries.
The figure will be increased to 36 flights per week, if the two parties agree, he added.
In the meeting between Iranian and Afghani officials, launching flights between other cities of the two countries including Mashhad, Kandahar and Mazari Sharif also will be discussed as well as increasing flights between the capitals, Khoda Karami underlined.
Bilateral trade between the Iran and Afghanistan is estimated at over $2 billion per year, and rising. Iranian exports, especially energy supplies, to Afghanistan account for the vast majority of the trade volume. Some 500 Iranian companies were operating in Afghanistan as of July 2013.
Tehran and Kabul expect bilateral trade to increase once Iran's Chabahar port is fully operational. The port, which opened in July, is intended to be a conduit for landlocked Afghanistan to trade with India and other countries.