Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk and his Azerbaijani counterpart Shahin Mustafayev have inspected border crossing infrastructure along the Iran-Azerbaijan frontier, including operational and planned facilities for developing the Western Route of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
"While entering Iran today, we observed that the vast majority of trucks queuing to enter Azerbaijan from Iran are Russian vehicles," Overchuk told reporters. "This demonstrates the strong trade and economic ties between our countries, which we are confident will continue to expand."
The deputy prime minister highlighted that the free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) came into force in May. "We've already seen a 35% year-on-year increase in trade between the EAEU and Iran since May. We're confident this growth will continue, and our border infrastructure must keep pace with these expanding trade volumes," he stated.
Overchuk detailed that the Iranian side presented modernization plans for the Astara border crossing, while Russian delegates conveyed concerns raised by domestic transport companies. "We've agreed to establish a trilateral working group, to be led by deputy transport ministers and deputy customs service heads from our three countries, to systematically address all existing operational challenges," he announced.
The Russian official concluded by praising Iran's "constructive and business-like approach" toward the Russian delegation and its commitment to developing the International North-South Transport Corridor.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS