BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 15. The discussions on the International North-South Corridor and railroads of Iran and Azerbaijan will be held on the margins of the summit of the BRICS heads of state, the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran, Director General of Railways Administration Jabbarali Zakeri said at a meeting with Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Roshvan Rustamov, Trend reports.
According to him, Iran has received a proposal from Russia in this regard, and a new direction of the international North-South corridor will be on the agenda.
Zakeri added that several Iranian international transportation companies have started positive actions in this direction, and these positive steps by Iran and Azerbaijan can be further expanded.
The official noted that serious negotiations have been held between Iran and Russia over the construction of the Rasht-Astara railroad line on the Iranian part of the North-South international corridor. The construction of this railroad line is expected to start soon.
“Iran is currently connected with CIS countries in five directions, and it is estimated that 10 million tons of cargo can be transported through the North-South corridor per year.
The joint freight transportation process between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran should be improved, eventually reaching India, and increasing rail freight transportation between Iran and Azerbaijan is on Iran's agenda.
The existing potential of the North-South International Corridor should be maximized until the Rasht-Astara railroad is improved," he said.
BRICS is an intergovernmental organization established in 2006. Russia assumed the BRICS chairmanship on January 1, 2024. Currently, the members of the organization, in addition to Russia, are Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. The BRICS summit will be held in Kazan on October 22-24.
Meanwhile, an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000, laid the foundation for the North-South Transport Corridor. In general, several countries have ratified the above mentioned agreement. (Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Bulgaria, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Sultanate of Oman, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Türkiye, Ukraine). The purpose of creating the corridor is to reduce the time of delivery of goods coming from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe (the delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks; it is expected to be three weeks via “North-South”).
The Qazvin-Rasht railroad (175 km) was put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijan's railroads with Iran's railway network within the corridor. The Rasht-Astara railroad is to be built on Iranian territory.
The North-South Corridor has three directions within Iran. The eastern direction is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries; the middle direction is Russia and other countries across the Caspian Sea; and the western direction is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.