ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 12. Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are keen to advance the eastern segment of the International North-South Transport Corridor, Trend reports.
This was announced following a meeting between Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and Mammethan Chakyev, Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers.
The meeting also covered the construction of the Turgundi-Herat railway in Afghanistan and discussed enhancing the flow of goods toward China via Turgundi.
The parties emphasized their collaborative efforts to establish competitive tariff conditions for the joint China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran corridors and the North-South route.
Both countries are actively working together to develop the eastern segment of the corridor, which runs through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, facilitating the transit of goods to Pakistan and onward to India.
Meanwhile, in July 2024, a roadmap was signed between Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, and Turkmenistan for the synchronized development of the North-South corridor. A decision was also made to utilize the western branch of the Trans-Afghan Railway.
The International North-South Transport Corridor is a 7,200 km multimodal route connecting St. Petersburg with ports in Iran and India. It offers an alternative to the maritime route linking Europe with the Persian Gulf countries and the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.
The corridor’s western and eastern branches traverse Iran: the western branch uses road transport through Rasht, while the eastern branch relies on rail. The final destination in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas, from which cargo can be shipped to India by sea. The western branch also passes through Azerbaijan, while the eastern branch goes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.