Iran has opened a key bridge connecting cities on the two sides of the border with Turkmenistan amid efforts to expand trade with countries in the Central Asia region.
Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami used a video conference session on Monday to watch the opening of Sarakhs Bridge, a structure located in northeast Iran straddles the border with Turkmenistan.
The Turkmen Minister of Construction and Architecture Rahim Gandymov, as well as local governors of Iran’s Razavi Khorasan Province and Turkmenistan’s Ahal Region also watched on as the land bridge was opened to connect namesake cities of Sarakhs on the two sides of the border.
Eslami said during the opening ceremony that the bridge and its customs facilities would handle traffic for 1,000 trucks per day.
He said the bridge would play a key role in boosting trade between Tehran and Ashgabat while it would also help Iran expand its economic ties with countries in the Central Asia region.
The opening of the Sarakhs Bridge comes as Iran and Turkmenistan has yet to fully open their borders after more than three months of closure over the new coronavrus pandemic.
Iran has erected disinfection installations at the border, including several 20-meter-long tunnels, to ensure shipments passing through the frontier are free of any virus.
Eslami said during the Monday ceremony that Iran was fully ready to resume trade with Central Asian countries through the Turkmenistan border.
He expressed hope that the three border crossings between Iran and Turkmenistan, namely Sarakhs, Lotfabad and Incheboron would reopen as soon as possible to allow trade between the two countries to resume.