Iran and Russia signed an agreement to initiate flights between the northern Iranian city Sari, and Russia’s Astarakhan region, according to IRNA. The flight will be launched in May.
The agreement was signed in a meeting in Astrakhan attended by Governor-General of Mazandaran Rabii Fallah Jelodar and local officials of Astrakhan.
During the meeting, the two sides underlined the need for further strengthening of tourism cooperation between the two provinces.
Last year some 2000 Russians traveled to Sari and it is expected this figure will rise with the introduction of the Sari-Astarakhan direct flight.
The direct flight is expected to boost relations between these two strategic regions of Iran and Russia, and is in line with recent bilateral talks on tourism cooperation. The Iranian ambassador to Russia, Mehdi Sanaei held a meeting with Maya Lomidze, president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) last Wednesday February 18, to discuss the tourism collaboration between the two sides.
Iran-Russia trade currently totals $1.5 billion a year, but there is a desire on both sides to increase it ten-fold in the near future. The expansion of tourism cooperation can support the expansion plan. Iran earned more than $6.5 billion revenues last year from tourism sector, mostly from medical tourism and pilgrims.
