Tehran, May 16 (MRUD NEWS)—Iran Minister of Transport and Urban Development, Rostam Ghasemi, is meeting with the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, Gnel Sanosyan, in order to discuss details of bilateral transit cooperation and joint infrastructural projects.
During bilateral talks, Iran and Armenia expressed their willingness for reaching agreements which would facilitate transit and trade between the two countries and in the region.
In the meeting, Kheirollah Khademi, director-genral of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company, pointing to the previous negotiations and visits to Armenia for the implementation of the road route from Nuruz to Yerevan and re-design of Iran's routes to Nurduz, informed of Iran's preparation to participate in the construction of the southern part of the strategically important Tatev Road in the Sisian (southern Armenia) to Nurduz particularly construction of a tunnel and also development of Nurduz Terminal.
Moreover, Iran is ready to export technical and engineering services to Armenia by Iranian contractors and companies for completing the construction of the Corridor stretching from Nurduz in Iran to Yerevan with higher productivity.
Referring to the transit of 22500 Armenian trucks and 24000 Iranian trucks in 2021, Hedayati, the general-director of Iran Transit and International Transportation Bureau at Iran's Road Maintenance & Transportation Organization, proposed for commercialization of Iranian and Armenian Corridors beyond trade ties for increased regional transit, because the demand for transit is increasing due to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and recently signed Persian Gulf-Black Sea Agreement.
For the rail connection, Miad Salehi, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, pointed to three possibilities for the rail transit between Iran and Armenia. The first two rail connections are i) Jolfa-Nakhchivan-Yerevan and ii) Jolfa-Nurduz (in Iran) and Yerevan-Nurduz (in Armenia) railroads which was agreed 7 years ago though not realized by now. The third possibility is multi-modal transit from Yerevan to Jolfa by road and thence southward to the Port of Bandar Abbas by rail.
Previously in October 2021, Iran Deputy Transport Minister, Kheirollah Khademi, at the head of a delegation went to Armenia to consider participation of Iran in completing Tatev Road as an alternative route to Goris-Kapan Road which bypass Azerbaijan territory due to the heavy tolls levied to Iranian fleets.