TEHRAN – Hossein Pirmoazzen, deputy head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, said Iran and Azerbaijan are taking strategic steps to advance joint projects ranging from logistics to industrial infrastructure, including a planned logistics hub and a joint industrial park.

Speaking in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Baku, Pirmoazzen noted that the two projects, agreed during the recent presidential visit to Azerbaijan and endorsed by both governments, remain pending and require determined follow-up.

He said while Baku has shown professionalism in negotiations and drafting agreements, the pace of implementation has been cautious and slow.

The joint industrial park is planned for the Bileh-Savar Free Trade-Industrial Zone, with a proposal to allocate equal land shares from both countries. Pirmoazzen said Ardebil province is ready to provide full infrastructure, including water, electricity and gas, for the project. He added that tax incentives, trade facilitation measures, capital security and access to international markets make the plan an essential response to investment demand in the border region.

He also highlighted the potential of the Ardabil–Baku railway link, describing it as a turning point for agricultural exports and a cost-cutting route to Russia. Improved customs operations, he added, have already reduced waiting times for trucks at border crossings from one week to 48 hours, with expectations of further increases in freight capacity once 24-hour operations begin.

Pirmoazzen stressed the need to move beyond traditional trade methods, which he said drain resources through currency fluctuations, and instead adopt modern approaches to boost both export volume and revenue.

He announced that the next meeting of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Commission, chaired by Shahin Mustafayev, deputy prime minister of Azerbaijan, will be held in Tehran next week.

EF/MA