This combination of pictures created on October 5, 2021 shows (L to R) an Iranian flag fluttering outside of the UN headquarters during the opening of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 10, 2018; and an Azerbaijani flag flying in the wind ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on June 3, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP)

TEHRAN - Iran and Azerbaijan on Saturday inaugurated a vehicular bridge across the Astarachay River, serving as a new transit passage at the eastern border between the two countries, the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development reported.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash and Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, the report said.

According to the report, the four-lane bridge, built with 5.8 million euros (about $6.4 million) in investments in 22 months, has a length of 89 meters and is 30.6 meters wide. The bridge also has a 2.5-meter roofed sidewalk on each side.

The Iranian ministry said the bridge would help boost bilateral trade capacity and facilitate cargo and passenger transportation between the two countries.

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In a phone conversation with the Iranian minister last week, the Azerbaijani deputy prime minister said rail transportation of commodities between the two countries grew by 47 percent year-on-year in 2023, surpassing more than 700,000 tons.