Ambassador: More Iranian trucks will go to Black Sea via Armenia if customs duties, tolls are reduced

Zeroing of tolls plays a huge role for truckers to use the territory of Armenia to reach Georgia and the Black Sea; it is very important for them at what price they can transport their cargo to the Black Sea. Iran's ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, stated this in an interview with the Public Television of Armenia.

According to him, some of the Iranian truckers tends to use Azerbaijan's relatively longer route to reach Georgia and the Black Sea because its tolls and fuel prices are more affordable.

"The route passing through Armenia is shorter. And if we can reduce the customs duties and tolls and come to an understanding on these issues facing [truck] drivers, truck traffic through this route will increase dramatically, Armenia's revenues will increase, and Armenia will become a regional transportation hub.

“Under normal conditions, our trucks, using Armenia’s route, will reach the Black Sea two days earlier than the Azerbaijani one. Therefore, if we can reduce these tariffs, it will have a very serious and significant impact on increasing the amount of truck traffic between the two countries, which is in the interests of both countries," noted the Iranian ambassador to Armenia, highlighting the role of the North-South highway via Armenia to connect the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea.