A joint working group in Baku on July 26 will study obstacles to cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan on the financial issues of a project for the construction of Rasht-Astara railroad. According to Iran’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak-Ayeen, Iran’s deputy minister of roads and urban development, Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan, and Azerbaijan’s deputy economy minister, Sahil Babayev, will chair the delegations of their respective countries in the meeting, Trend News Agency reported. According to Pak-Ayeen, Baku will invest $500 million in the construction of the railroad, which will be capable of carrying 10 million tons of goods and three million passengers per year upon inauguration. Expressing hope that the railroads of Iran and Azerbaijan will be linked by the end of the current year, the envoy said connecting the railroads of the two neighboring countries will have a key role in developing the so-called International North-South Transport Corridor, which is to link Northern Europe with Southeast Asia.
