TEHRAN— Heading a delegation, Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi has traveled to Baku to attend a tripartite meeting with Russia and Azerbaijan intended to assess ways to enhance economic ties between the three regional powerhouses.

As IRIB reported, developing the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the completion of the Rasht-Astara railway are among the main issues that will be discussed at this meeting.

Speaking to the press upon leaving Tehran for Baku, Qasemi said: “In this tripartite meeting, we will discuss the issues regarding the transportation and transit of goods in the North-South corridor.”

Earlier this month, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, Iranian ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan met Shahin Mustafayev, deputy prime minister and the Azerbaijani Chairman of the Joint Economic Commission with Iran.

In this meeting, discussions were held regarding the latest developments in economic and trade relations between the two countries, as well as joint projects, especially in the field of transportation.

In an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times published on August 2, Mousavi named a few projects besides the North-South corridor as major joint projects between Tehran and Baku.

“As I said, our relationship with the Republic of Azerbaijan is one of kinship and neighborliness. Many people tried to influence this relationship and prevent it from being warm. It is natural that if two Muslim countries are close to each other, many people will be unhappy and upset. We do not want to please anyone,” the diplomat said of Iran-Azerbaijan ties.

He then noted, “We have big joint projects. We are building a new and big bridge in Astara, and if this bridge is inaugurated by the end of this year, the volume of transit between Iran and Azerbaijan, which is about 200 trucks per day from the Astara region, can reach 800 or even 1000. We are pursuing a joint dam construction project.”

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