The governor of Iran’s northern Gilan Province, Mohammad Ali Najafi, met with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev in Baku on Wednesday. The Azerbaijani minister viewed as constructive the October meetings between the officials of the two countries to link the two country’s railroads, IRNA reported. “The first phase of linking Azerbaijani and Iranian railroads is expected to finish by the end of 2016,” he said. Baku has agreed to extend its railroads by 8 kilometers up to the border from where Iran needs to build 2 kilometers inside the country. The project is part of a broader plan to connect Central Asia to Northern Europe through the so-called “International North-South Transport Corridor”. Najafi thanked the support of Azerbaijan for arranging Iran’s exhibition in Baku known as “Iran Project”. The three-day event, which wrapped up this week, was aimed at boosting non-oil export and easing trade between Iran and Azerbaijan. The two sides also announced that the 10th meeting of Azerbaijan-Iran Economic Commission will be held in December in Iran.
