A meeting between the top diplomats of Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia is scheduled to take place in Baku on March 15. "The meeting will help accelerate the expansion of regional cooperation," Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a meeting with the visiting Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria on Friday, IRNA reported, citing Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will represent Iran in the talks. Azeri-Press Agency had earlier quoted Iran's embassy officials in Baku as saying that the proposal to hold a four-party meeting was put forward by Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry in a bid to help increase the level of multilateral cooperation on various issues. Last year, heads of Georgian, Iranian and Azerbaijani railroads discussed the issue of launching a new South-West Transport Corridor where Georgia will play a vital transit role connecting the Persian Gulf and India to Europe. The countries involved believe that the main advantage of the new project is the reduction of the distance and delivery time, as cargo transportation from the Persian Gulf and India to Europe usually takes 30-40 days. It was also decided to launch negotiations with sea freight carriers to optimize the prices for cargo transportation on the sea section of the route.
