As a result of talks conducted by the Armenian Transport Minister Gagik Beglaryan in Tehran, an agreement has been reached on a travel corridor from India to Black Sea via Iran, Armenia and Georgia, Radio Liberty reports.

Beglaryan said that according to the estimates of the Armenian side, this route will be cheaper than the analogous routes via Azerbaijan and Turkey. “We will try to take all the cargo - which will be transported via Iran to Europe or Russia – to [Armenia’s] Yeraskh [village] by cars, and then to Poti by train, and from there to Europe by sea,” the Minister said.  

To open that route, the construction of corresponding sections of North-South Highway in Armenia’s Syunik and Vayots Dzor provinces will be launched. “This year we will put much effort in the southern part of the highway. If we can take it to Kajaran, the most difficult part will be from there to Agarak. Exactly there we can benefit in terms of time and distance: we thus benefit 60 km from Sisian and Kajaran. If we start works from Agarak, they will see that our route is better,” Beglaryan noted.

To receive the estimated cost of transit, the Minister has proposed to transport two containers from Bombei to some European city by that route. Two more cars will be sent via transit from Iran to Iraq, so that it is possible to operate that route too.

In the Minister’s words, the Iranian side has been proposed a new project of railway to Armenia which will pass from Meghri to Vayotys Dzor, reaching Yeraskh instead of Sevan. Next week, specialists from Iran will arrive in Yerevan to study this new project. “This project may be shorter, and it will be possible to construct it faster. The Iranian side expressed interest in participating and helping us in the feasibility study of the new railway, as well as the final projects,” he concluded.