Iran FM urges Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor launch

EghtesadOnline: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has stressed the importance of launching a new transport corridor connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea, saying it would strengthen relations among regional countries.

News ID: ۷۴۱۰۶۷

19 April 2017

“If implemented, the corridor connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea is an opportunity which will bring regional countries closer to each other and decrease transportation costs of commodities,” Zarif said at a meeting on Iran-Georgia economy in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

According to PressTV, he added that the project will also lead to cooperation between Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, the Iranian foreign minister expressed Tehran’s keenness to improve relations with Tbilisi.

Margvelashvili, for his part, said the two countries have managed to step up their cooperation since the establishment of relations some past 25 years ago and added that his country is interested in further expansion of ties.

He also called for bolstering cooperation in different cultural sectors given Iran’s rich culture.

Zarif is currently on a tour of Central Asia and the Caucasus countries. He wrapped up his visit to Georgia and left Tbilisi for the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Tuesday on the last leg of his three-leg trip which has already taken him to Turkmenistan.

During his stay in Tbilisi, the top Iranian diplomat held separate meetings with his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Janelidze, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze.