BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 9. Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran intend to build a single railway network, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said during an event in Baku dedicated to the prospects for the development of the North-South transport corridor, Trend reports.
"The working group on the development of the international North-South corridor was created by the heads of our countries and its development is very important for trilateral cooperation. During the talks between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, the parties expressed their readiness to discuss the development of Rasht-Astara, as well as the North-South," Novak noted.
According to him, Russia is ready for the productive trilateral cooperation.
"I’m sure that our negotiations will be very productive for all three parties. I guess that full-scale use will affect the volume of trade indicators. Among the main tasks we want to build a unified railway network, the construction of which will increase the flow of goods along the western corridor by 15 percent. It’s also necessary to protect the investments of the parties,” the official pointed out.
“We also consider it important to create a logistics service and a tariff mechanism. It’s also necessary to work in the development of ports, and to agree on the working conditions of each of the parties,” Novak further said. “Today, as you know, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran have reached an agreement on the simplified transportation of goods, which is positive for the further implementation of projects. In order to ensure the effective operation of the corridor, Russia has worked out a new mechanism for its development and prepared a regulatory framework.”
“We must follow the instructions of the heads of our countries, and within three months we plan to identify investments and sources of funding. Further, it’s necessary to work out a full-format agreement," he added.