Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran to establish new transit route

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran have reached an agreement on establishing a transit route connecting the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea, local news sources have reported.

Director-General of Iran's Transit and International Affairs Department of Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization Javad Hedayati made the relevant remarks.

Under the agreement, initially, over the next four months, pilot shipments will be sent from Iran to deliver Iranian goods to Azerbaijan through the Astara border, as well as to the Eastern European countries via Georgian ports of Batumi and Poti on the Black Sea.

“We are trying to conduct a pilot phase of this project before the end of the Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2022), so that obstacles and problems can be identified and a final trilateral meeting between the three countries will establish a mechanism to reduce the cost and time of delivery,” he said.

Hedayati noted that this plan was proposed eight years ago, but due to the fact that many countries were involved in this agreement, it has not yet been implemented and the parties have not reached a consensus.

He added that Georgia and Azerbaijan have made great efforts to improve and develop their transport infrastructure.

Azerbaijan is closely cooperating with both Iran and Georgia in various spheres of economy.

The trade turnover with Georgia and Iran amounted to $623.2 million and $337.2 million, respectively, during the first ten months of 2021.