ArmInfo.On December 16, Armenian Ambassador to Iran Artashes Tumanyan met with the Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi.
As reported by the Armenian diplomatic mission on Facebook, during the meeting they discussed issues of cooperation between customs services of Armenia and Iran. The work of customs authorities during the Karabakh war and during the coronavirus epidemic was mentioned.
Tumanyan presented the preparatory work for the program of reconstruction and modernization of the Meghri customs post, after which the issues related to the agreements in this direction were discussed.
It should be noted that the EBRD provided Armenia 21.2 million euros for the modernization and expansion of the Meghri checkpoint, of which 10.7 million euros will be attracted in the form of loans and 10.5 million euros under a grant program, funds for which will be provided by the EU. Since the northern checkpoints have already been modernized, the modernization of the southern ones will contribute to the activation of the North-South transport corridor, stimulating transit traffic. According to preliminary calculations, the project cost is 13.96 billion drams. The total area of the checkpoint will be 8.7 hectares. It is planned to build a 2-storey office building on an area of 4 thousand square meters, an area of 1.5 thousand square meters will be allocated for the construction of a solar station.