TEHRAN – Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi met with Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan on Tuesday in which the Armenian side expressed interest in forming a new transit route through Iran to access Persian Gulf countries.

As published in the portal of Iran’s Transport Ministry, in this meeting, held at the place of ministry, the two sides reached an agreement to expand and develop the International North-South Transit Corridor in the Iranian territory from Nordoz border to Varzeqan and Tabriz.

According to Qasemi, with the addition of a new Iran-Armenia section to the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), from Nordoz border to Varzeqan and then Tabriz, the capacity of moving goods and transit through INSTC will be significantly improved.

“This route can handle a significant volume of the INSTC’s transit load; another feature of this route is the reduction of travel length and time, which can be very important,” he said.

More than 200 million tons of goods are moved in the northern region of Iran, which can be considered as a good opportunity for the development of exchanges between the two countries, the official added.

Elsewhere in the meeting, Qasemi expressed Iranian companies’ readiness for the exports of technical and engineering services to Armenia.

The two sides further decided that Iranian contractors and companies could cooperate with Armenia in the construction of tunnels, roads and buildings.

“In the meeting with the Armenian minister, construction projects in Armenia were discussed and opinions were exchanged. Considering that there are many projects in Armenia including roads, tunnels and construction, it was decided that a team of professional builders from Iran would visit the country to exchange views on this matter,” Qasemi told the press after the meeting with Sanosyan.

According to Qasemi, the export of technical and engineering services to Armenia is going to significantly improve the value of trade exchanges between the two countries.

Iranian contractors to build tunnel in Armenia

Addressing the press after the talks with Qasemi, Sanosyan for his part invited Iranian companies to participate in his country’s development projects and announced his country’s readiness for the beginning of the construction of Armenia’s Kajaran Tunnel in the spring of 2023 with the participation of Iranian contractors.

Emphasizing that he has a mission from the prime minister of his country to announce that Armenia is ready to entrust the project to Iranian contractors without holding any tenders, he explained: “We are trying to build the Kajaran Tunnel in the spring of 2023 in collaboration with Iran.”

EF/MA

Photo: Iranian Transport Minister Rostam Qasemi (L) and Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan