The issue of having Astara customs administrations work 24/7 goes back to a memorandum of understanding signed last year by Masoud Karbasian, who was then President of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), and his Azerbaijani counterpart in time with the visit to Tehran by President Ilham Aliyev.
A customs official said measures for implementing the MoU were discussed in a recent meeting between senior Iranian and Azerbaijani officials in Astara and the two sides called for urgent performance of the agreement.
Mohammad Shahbazi, who is in charge of Supervision Department in Gilan Province Customs Office, later noted that conditions were ripe for full-time working of the border customs and no barrier exists in the way of its implementation.
The official later underlined that “with the requirements for round-the-clock operation of Astara's Customs Office having been met, a new chapter on economic cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan will be opened in the near future.”
Shahbazi later stated that Azerbaijan’s Customs has also declared its preparedness for a full time operation at the border, and is cooperating on implementing the plan.
The Astara Customs Office locates in the northern border city of Astra in Gilan Province which lies on the border with Azerbaijan Republic and on the Caspian Sea.
In the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (began March 21), a total of 162 thousand tons of non-oil commodities worth 88 million dollars were shipped to Azerbaijan through Astara Customs.
Moreover, volume of foreign transit stood at 165 thousand tons worth 761 million dollars in the similar time span. In the meantime, a total of 447,356 passengers commuted through Astara Customs Office in northern Iran.
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