The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), announced yesterday (22 December), that a new corridor, currently in test mode, had been constructed linking Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Orujali Alizadeh, the head of Eastern Azerbaijan's Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, reportedly told IRNA that the transport corridor, which will connect the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea, would facilitate the export of cargos from Iran to Batumi, allowing Iran to export to other regional states, as well as European countries. He went on to state that by being one of the shortest routes between Europe and Iran, the new Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia transit corridor represented a real alternative to existing routes. Moreover, he stated that European nations could also export their goods to Iran through Batumi.
The Director General of the International Transit and Transport Department of the Organization of Roads and Transport of Iran, Javad Khedayati, stated that the corridor will transport 20 millions tons of cargo per year, which is planned to increase to 50 million tons per year in the next 2 decades.
The Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Tabriz, Bunyad Huseynov, reportedly stressed that the corridor would significantly contribute to the strengthening of ties between the three countries, adding that it “reflects the geostrategic position of the three countries and will have a positive impact on regional and extra-regional trade in the near future”.