BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 19. Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have reached an agreement in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg to improve transit of cargo and fuel by road and sea, Trend reports.
The agreement was reached following a meeting with Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and Yevgeny Moskvichev, Head of Russian State Duma’s Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development.
During the meeting of the officials of the two countries, cargo shipment through Iran’s Amirabad, Anzali and Caspian ports in the Caspian Sea was also discussed.
The 26th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum was held on June 14 through June 17, 2023. More than 120 countries' leaders, economy ministers and deputies participated in the forum. Iran's Road and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash also participated in that forum.
Bazrpash said that a special meeting was held in Saint Petersburg with the participation of representatives of various countries, including Russia, Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan and Belarus, regarding the International North-South Transport Corridor.
Within the framework of the meeting, the Iranian side put forward 6 proposals in order to develop relations between Iran and Russia in the field of transit.
1. Participation of Russian investors, including entrepreneurs who want to transport their goods, as well as cargo companies in the improvement of ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman;
2. Creation of small and medium business companies and start-up companies on cargo transportation;
3. Development of automatic and digital technologies for increasing transport and transit relations between Russia and Iran;
4. Creation and operation of logistics centers between Iran and Russia, taking advantage of the potential of free trade zones, encouraging investors to create related infrastructures;
5. Simplification of activities of Russian international logistics companies in Iran;
6. Taking joint steps to develop shipping in the creation of a regular and low-cost sea route between Iran and Russia in the Caspian Sea.
The foundation of the ‘International North-South Transport Corridor’ was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000. In total, 13 countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Russia, Türkiye, etc.
The purpose of creating a corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo from India to Russia, as well as to North and West Europe. Delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via North-South Transport Corridor.
Iran's 175 km-long Qazvin-Rasht railway was officially put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijani railways with the Iranian railway network within the corridor. In addition, the 167 km long Rasht-Astara railway line will be built in Iran.
The INSTC has 3 routes on Iran's territory. The eastern route is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the middle route is Russia and other countries via the Caspian Sea, and the western route is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Eastern European countries.
---
Follow the author on Twitter:@BaghishovElnur