Tabriz, IRNA - A new corridor among Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia will facilitate transit of commodities to Europe, an Iranian official said.
Orujali Alizadeh, head of Eastern Azerbaijan's Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, told IRNA on Wednesday that the new corridor has been constructed following a memorandum of understanding inked by these three countries.
Three vehicles carrying flags of Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia departed Tabriz, the capital city of East Azarbaijan province in Iran, to Batumi port city in Georgia's Autonomous Republic of Adjara symbolically, Alizadeh noted.
According to the official, the transit corridor not only facilitates the export of cargos from Iran to Batumi on the coast of the Black Sea but also provides the Islamic Republic with the opportunity to export to other regional states, adding that it will increase the transit of goods from former republics of the Soviet Union to Europe.
Pointing to the fact that Batumi port city is the biggest port to reach Europe via the Black Sea, he added that the corridor will also help Iran in particular Tabriz develop trade ties with European countries.
Moreover, the European nations can also export their goods to Iran through Batumi port, he said.
The Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia transit corridor is considered one of the shortest routes and the most cost-effective corridors between Europe and Iran, he said, noting that the corridor is a proper alternate for existing routes.
The distance between Tabriz to Batumi on the map is 557 kilometers.
The Islamic Republic of Iran also conducts trade exchanges with European states via Turkey.