Azerbaijan, Iran Boost Trade Turnover

Azerbaijan and Iran have increased trade turnover by 22.4% or US$87.6 million in January-November 2021, the State Customs Committee has reported. During the first 11 months of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to US$390.4 million, with exports accounting for US$39.1 million and imports for US$351.2 million. Azerbaijan's exports to Iran increased by 6.6% year on year, while imports from that country increased by 32%. It should be noted that the trade turnover between Iran and Azerbaijan amounted to US$302.8 million during the corresponding period of 2020.

During the reported period, the country's trade turnover amounted to US$30.2 billion. Of the total turnover, export amounted to US$19.7 billion or 65.5%, while import was US$10.4 billion or 34.4%, resulting in a surplus of US$9.3 billion. On November 28, 2021, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan signed a trilateral agreement on swapping gas supplies in Ashgabat. The agreement envisages deliveries of 1.5 to 2 billion cubic meters of gas each year, with Turkmenistan supplying gas to Iran and Iran delivering an equal quantity of gas to Azerbaijan. Thus, under the trilateral deal, Turkmenistan will sell 5-6 million cubic meters of gas per day to Azerbaijan.

In addition, a new transport corridor through Iran, Azerbaijan, and Georgia has been launched in test mode recently, which will connect the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea. After liberating its lands from Armenia's occupation in a 44-day war with Armenia in 2020, Azerbaijan restored control over the 132-km section of the Azerbaijan-Iran border. The restoration of control over the state border created new opportunities and prospects for broader cooperation between the two countries. - Trend