News - World: Iran and Armenia have agreed to increase the transit of cargoes through the two countries as part of efforts to activate a transportation corridor that will pass through the Armenian territory to Europe bypassing Azerbaijan.

Iran’s Minister of Transportation and Urban Development Rostam Qassemi said on Monday that he had reached “good agreements” with Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan during a meeting held in Tehran earlier in the day.

He said the agreements will lead to increased transit cooperation between the two countries, adding that Armenia had agreed to ease its restrictions on the number of Iranian trucks allowed to travel through the country.

    “The (volume of) road transit with Armenia is not significant but we hope to increase that based on the agreements reached today,” Qassemi told reporters after the meeting.

Iran has been helping Armenia build a new transit road that will bypass a traditional trade route in Azerbaijan. The project started after a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 that led to new security arrangements in the region.

Experts say the new transit road will help Iran diversify its trade routes while allowing more transit of cargoes to Europe through the Iranian territory from countries to the south and east of Iran.  

Armenia’s Sanosyan told Iranian reporters after the Monday meeting with Qassemi that his country plans to facilitate the movement of Iranian trucks through the Armenian roads.

He promised that Iranian drivers will experience a shorter and safer journey on the new Armenian transit road that he said will be ready in the very near future.

Source: Press TV