Movement of Goods Between Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia to Be Facilitated

TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking to IRNA on the sidelines of the first trilateral meeting aimed at facilitating transit between Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia, Ebrahim Naqdi said: “Following earlier meetings with Russia and Azerbaijan regarding expanding trade volume and pursuing the memorandum of understanding signed in 2022 and another agreement signed in October 2025, we concluded that the three countries need to examine practical obstacles more closely.”

Naqdi emphasized that the meeting addressed technical and expert-level issues hindering trade and transit among the three countries, and explored ways to boost trade, increase truck flow, and facilitate transit.

He stated that Iran’s demand for increased transit and movement of goods was clearly communicated, noting that with existing infrastructure, the volume of freight movement and transit could double.

According to Naqdi, Iran’s customs — especially at the Astara border crossing — has the capacity for greater volumes of transit and cargo movement. It was agreed that existing challenges will be studied further and obstacles removed.

He stressed that Azerbaijan, as a neighboring and friendly country, needs to increase its capacity for processing and accepting transit trucks. He expressed hope that the issues raised would be resolved soon and that trade volumes would grow.

Naqdi said the meeting reviewed key trade issues, current border challenges, and ways to expand the capacity for cargo-carrying fleets. “We clearly stated that the current level of trade among the three countries is far below its true potential.”

He noted that existing infrastructure can support at least double the current trade volume: “At present, around 250 trucks enter and 250 trucks exit daily at the Astara border crossing. At Bileh-Savar, 200–250 trucks enter or leave daily. These numbers do not match the level of commercial relations or the economic needs of the three countries and must be increased.”

Naqdi stressed the need to reduce truck waiting times at the borders, simplify the acceptance process for transport fleets, and expand Azerbaijan’s customs capacity. “During today’s field visit, we showed Azerbaijani and Russian customs officials the bottlenecks and issues. They also promised to ease the processes for accepting cargo and trucks.”

He highlighted the importance of perishable goods, especially agricultural products, noting that the three countries have agreed to standardize, simplify, and facilitate procedures for the rapid movement of such goods, while maintaining necessary controls.

Referring to earlier negotiations, Naqdi said that during the October 2025 Baku meeting, a document was signed between the deputy customs chiefs of Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan to examine trilateral issues through a joint working committee—today’s meeting being the first step in implementing that agreement.

He added: “Iran’s Customs took the initiative to host the first working committee meeting with coordination from the Foreign Ministry and other agencies. We believe that many border issues related to truck acceptance and unnecessary delays will be resolved in the near future.”

Naqdi concluded that the customs administrations of the three countries are determined to significantly increase trade volume through continuous follow-up, active customs diplomacy, and trilateral cooperation.

Sadegh Barzegar, Director-General of Gilan Province Customs, told reporters that representatives from the three countries discussed ways to expand customs cooperation, ease truck movements, and accelerate the transit of goods.

He reported that approximately 300 trucks are currently stationed inside the Astara customs compound, while about 650 trucks are waiting in terminals outside the compound to depart toward Azerbaijan and Russia.

Barzegar added that the Azerbaijani delegation agreed to simplify truck passage and speed up cargo clearance to prevent long delays and potential financial losses for traders, especially in the case of perishable and agricultural goods.

Citing yesterday’s traffic statistics, he said: “During this period, 250 outbound trucks headed to Azerbaijan, while 280 inbound trucks arrived from that country. The goal of the trilateral cooperation is to achieve a balanced and efficient level of border traffic and further facilitate commercial exchanges.”

Barzegar stressed that establishing a shared customs framework among the three countries can strengthen regional economic and transit cooperation, and noted that Gilan Province will play a significant role in achieving this objective.

At the close of the meeting, the participants emphasized strengthening technical and operational cooperation and agreed to continue holding joint meetings in the near future.