Iran to become region’s transit hub: CAO
Head of the Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh announced that the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will provide Iran with a great opportunity to become the region’s transit hub.
Referring to the signing of the free trade agreement between Iran and Eurasia, Mohammadi-Bakhsh said in an interview with IRNA on Wednesday that the agreement would provide a great deal of potential for developing trade relations between these countries, IRNA reported.
Regarding Iran’s potential in the technical, maintenance and training fields of aviation and airport infrastructure throughout the country, he said there is a great opportunity to develop air cooperation, which provides opportunities for these countries to develop their transportation ties.
Iran and the EAEU signed an agreement to initiate free trade on Monday.
Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Abbas Aliabadi and Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Mikhail Myasnikovich signed the agreement.
Meanwhile, Iran’s deputy minister of roads and urban development for transportation affairs revealed a 37 percent increase in the transit of goods via Iranian territory in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2023).
More than 11 million tons of products were transited from the country between March 21 and December 22, 2023, registering a 37 percent hike compared to the same period last year, Shahriar Afandizadeh said.
He added that more than three million tons of oil products were transited from the country in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year, showing a 77.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
In addition, over seven million tons of non-oil goods were transited from the country between March 21 and December 22, 2023, registering a 24.1 percent hike compared to last year’s corresponding period, the deputy roads minister added, according to Mehr news agency.
Giant steps have been taken in the transit sector of the country during the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi, he continued.
It is expected that the country will witness a considerable jump in the transit of goods in the coming years, Afandizadeh emphasized.