Iran has called for the elimination of existing obstacles to trade and transit through the Norduz border checkpoint on the border with Armenia.

Hossein Forouzan, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Free Trade-Industrial and Special Economic Zones, announced this during a visit to the terminal, IRNA news agency reports.

According to him, resolving the existing problems at this border checkpoint requires constant monitoring and clear coordination between all Iranian state and supervisory structures working on the border. Forouzan called on respective Iranian departments to abandon fragmented decisions in order to simplify trade and transit procedures at the aforesaid border checkpoint.

He noted that reducing the downtime of freight transport and increasing the efficiency of customs services are directly related to the development of exports. According to the Iranian official, the existing obstacles should be eliminated promptly, based on expert analysis.

Also, he considered it necessary to develop infrastructure and simplify customs procedures at Norduz in order to more effectively use the region's transit potential. The Norduz border checkpoint is located in the Iranian city of Julfa, in the immediate vicinity of the Araks River. This is the only land section of the Iranian-Armenian border.

The checkpoint is of strategic importance for Iran's trade relations with the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union.