Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev met with Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Islami after a meeting of the Iran-Azerbaijan Economic Commission, Eurasia Diary reports citing APA.

During the meeting, Islami said that the volume of exchanges via the Astara-Astara railway increased by 25%, which is an indicator of the development of relations between the two countries.

Speaking about the importance of the issue of transit, Islami said that passing through Azerbaijan was an opportunity for us to activate the North-South corridor, and we have always insisted that the highway be active in this corridor. He added that we discussed the construction of a new car terminal on the Astara border, as the old terminal does not have the potential for exchange: "Therefore, we agreed to build a new road bridge at the border. With the construction of this bridge, the Baku-Astara highway will be connected to the Ardabil-Astara-Rasht highway. An agreement will be signed in Astara next month and a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new terminal and bridge will be held.

The Iranian minister said that another important issue discussed was the participation of Iranian companies in the reconstruction work (in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan), the delivery of Iranian trucks to Azerbaijan, not at the border, but in Azerbaijan: " This will both prevent product spoilage and delays, as well as provide a better product to the consumer."