Leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia focus on boosting trade
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Azerbaijan's president says he expects an upcoming summit with the leaders of Iran and Russia to give a major push to construction of a new international transport corridor.
President Ilham Aliyev says he and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed on Sunday to speed up construction of the North-South corridor and they expect further progress when Russian President Vladimir Putin joins them in Baku on Monday.
The North-South corridor running between Russia and India is intended to reduce freight costs and increase trade along the route.
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The Kremlin also says the summit will focus on the transport corridor, particularly construction of a railroad between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Russia says trade with Iran was up 70 percent in the first five months of 2016, with Russian exports accounting for most of it.