(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Sabina Mammadli read more The official ceremony of commissioning the 'Khanoba' customs
post located on the Azerbaijan-Russia border has been held on March
17, Azernews reports.
Azerbaijani and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev
and Alexey Overchuk, as well as Chairman of the government of
Russia's Dagestan Republic Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov and other
officials, attended the ceremony.
Answering the questions on the sidelines of the ceremony, the
Azerbaijani official stated that the issue of opening the land
borders of Azerbaijan with neighboring countries is under the
jurisdiction of the Operational Headquarters and the appropriate
decision will be made depending on the epidemiological
situation.
'I cannot name specific dates, but depending on the
epidemiological situation, the Operational Headquarters will make
appropriate decisions,' Mustafayev added.
Besides, he informed that Azerbaijan and Russia have agreed to
synchronize customs procedures
'The transport sector plays a huge role in fostering cooperation
between our countries. Azerbaijan is committed to the Baku
Declaration, signed in September last year. As part of it, the
country is implementing projects aimed at increasing the capacity
of border points. Also, work is underway to build roads and
bridges,' he said.
Then, Mustafayev added that within a month, the construction of
a four-lane automobile road with a length of 24 kilometers between
the border points of Samur and Khanoba will be completed. He also
noted that a highway from Baku to the border with Russia is also
being built, which is expected to be completed within two
months.
'Today we see an increase in trade with Russia and work to
expand transport projects between Azerbaijan and Russia is very
important. We are ready to continue cooperation with Russia,' he
added.
Talking about the established custom point, Mustafayev stressed
that the border crossing will also expand the transit possibilities
of Azerbaijan and significantly increase cargo flows from the North
to the South.
'The government of Azerbaijan gives priority to the development
of the country's transport and logistics capabilities. Also, this
sector is a priority in terms of socioeconomic development. The
Khanoba border checkpoint is equipped with modern facilities and
technologies, which will significantly reduce the border crossing
time,' he said.
Moreover, Chairman of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee
Shahin Baghirov said that work will be carried out to improve
infrastructure capabilities at the border points of Azerbaijan with
Georgia, noting that work on the design of reconstruction work is
already underway.
He noted that the Khanoba checkpoint has 3 entrances for trucks
and cars, and 2 entrances for buses.
“Its territory is 7 hectares; 4.6 hectares are equipped with
terminals and warehouses. In addition, the Khanoba checkpoint is
equipped with the most modern means of checking cargo,' he
added.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said
that the newly opened border point will ensure smooth and efficient
transit of goods from India and Pakistan via Iran and Azerbaijan to
Russia.
'This will be the most important transport highway of the 21st
century, and in fact today the first element of this highway has
been put into operation,' he said.
The commissioning of the customs post is expected to allow for
the passage of a thousand additional trucks per day. The decision
to reconstruct the Khanoba customs post was made in order to reduce
the throughput of the Samur customs post.
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