BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 28. Russia is interested in developing trade ties with Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan and India through railways, the chairman of the Russian-Iranian Business Council (RIBC) Vladimir Obydenov said, Trend reports citing the council.
He made the remark during the meeting with the chairman of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei in Tehran on June 27.
Obydenov noted that in this regard, the Rasht-Astara railway line should be built.
“The improvement of the Rasht-Astara railway is of great importance for Russia's trade target. This route will allow opening the Pakistan-Russia railway route. On this route, reconstruction of the railway line should also be carried out in Pakistan. Russia intends to take advantage of this line by restoring it. Of course, Iran is also expected to build the Rasht-Astara railway line soon,” the chairman added.
According to him, within the mentioned route, at present, Russia can implement cargo transportation in this direction by shipping cargo to Iranian ports on its own ships first, and then transport cargo to Pakistan via trucks and from there to India. However, this route is not profitable both in terms of transportation time and transportation of goods without damage.
Obydenov proposed to establish a working group between the chambers of commerce of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Pakistan.
He said that ehe working group can discuss and submit its final proposal to the states on the improvement, restoration and strengthening of railway lines.
During the meeting, head of ICCIMA Gholam Hossein Shafei said that the Iranian government has chosen the transit of goods through the country as one of its priorities and is taking various steps in this direction.
According to Shafei, Iran and Russia have a number of infrastructure problems in maritime cooperation. One of these problems is the lack of Ro-Ro ships. Of course, steps have recently been taken to purchase several Ro-Ro ships. This will help improve the situation of maritime transport between Iran and Russia via the Caspian Sea.
Shafei also stressed that currently, the speed of freight trains in Iran is between 15-20 per hour. This is not a pleasant situation. A number of steps must be taken in this regard. At the same time, there is a shortage of freight cars in Iran. It is hoped that this problem will be solved with the help of Russia.
Iran plans to build the 167 km long Rasht-Astara railway line.
---
Follow the author on Twitter:@BaghishovElnur