Azerbaijan and Iran have discussed accelerating work on a railway terminal and border bridges on their easternmost border point.
The discussions took place on Thursday between Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Iranian Urban Development Minister Farzaneh Sadegh on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries in Avaza, Turkmenistan.
The two officials placed emphasis on projects in Astara, a city located on their easternmost border. There, Azerbaijan and Iran agreed in 2017 to construct a railway terminal. Construction was to be carried out by Azerbaijan Railways on land leased from the Iranian government for a 25-year period, according to pro-government media outlet Report.
According to the news outlet, 90% of the design work on the terminal and 75% of its construction work were completed.
Iranian media outlet IRNA said that Mustafayev agreed to pay a visit to Astara in the near future to review the current status of the joint projects on the ground.
In January, Rovshan Rustamov, the chair of Azerbaijan Railways, met the head of Iran’s railway company, Jabbar Ali Zakari Sardroudi, to discuss facilitating ‘faster and more efficient cargo’ shipment via the Astara cargo terminals.
During their meeting, they signed a document which included Iran’s approval of the terminal, stipulating that work on it would be done by the end of 2025.
Russia openly supports the construction of the terminal, with officials from Moscow, Tehran, and Baku scheduled to meet in the ‘near future’ to discuss progress made on the Rasht–Astara railway, which would become part of the International North–South Transport Corridor — an infrastructure project that would allow easy access of cargo between India and Russia.
Yousef Bardouka
