Customs chiefs sign Iran-Azerbaijan cooperation deal on trade, transit
Iran and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to expand customs cooperation and agreed on new measures aimed at facilitating bilateral trade and transit.
The agreement was signed at the northwestern Bileh Savar border crossing by the heads of the two countries' customs administrations, who also discussed obstacles to trade and transit and approved new measures to remove bottlenecks and accelerate the movement of commercial and transit goods, IRNA reported.
Foroud Asgari, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, said inadequate infrastructure remained one of the main obstacles to expanding trade and transit between the two countries.
"The completion of bridges under construction at the Astara and Nakhchivan border crossings by the Republic of Azerbaijan will strengthen infrastructure, boost trade and facilitate the movement of trucks," he said.
Asgari, who serves as Iran's deputy economy minister, said President Masoud Pezeshkian had shown particular interest in expanding trade with Azerbaijan and had repeatedly stressed the importance of strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
"The main obstacle to expanding trade between the two neighbors is border congestion and barriers to the smooth movement of trucks," he said, emphasizing the need for closer cooperation to resolve the issue.
Shahin Baghirov, chairman of Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee, said trade between Iran and Azerbaijan was important and that both sides shared a positive outlook.
"Holding these meetings is very important and will have a highly positive impact on resolving problems and removing obstacles," he said.
Baghirov also welcomed the establishment of a 24-hour online communication channel with his Iranian counterpart to enable the immediate resolution of customs-related issues.
The two customs chiefs signed the customs cooperation memorandum at the end of the meeting to facilitate and speed up customs procedures for commercial goods and transit cargo.