TEHRAN - The minister of external relations of Russia’s Astrakhan region has said that trade exchanges between the southern region and Iran grew by 15 percent in 2023.

Vladimir Golovkov made the remarks in an interview on Russian Channel 24, on Saturday night.

He said that Russia’s exports to Iran via Astrakhan grew by 10 percent in 2023, while imports from the Islamic Republic rose 38 percent.

The Russian official also said that Iran’s exports of citrus fruits were previously carried out by rail and road, but now, he added, such exports are also carried out using sea transport following an agreement between the Astrakhan region and the Iranian northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran.

The Astrakhan Region is located in the southeast of the European part of Russia in the Caspian Lowland. Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan.

In a meeting between Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy of Astrakhan Region Ilya Volynsky and Head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) Ali-Akbar Safaei in late October 2023, the Russian official expressed the region’s readiness for expanding ties with Iran.

As the TPO portal reported, underlining the commercial capacity of Astrakhan port, Volynsky said: “Considering the ongoing development program in this port, we welcome any economic and commercial cooperation with Iranian partners.”

In this meeting, the two sides also discussed the development of port and maritime cooperation and regular shipping in the Caspian Sea, the development of transit capacity and the activation of the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), and the reduction of the water level of the Caspian Sea.

EF/