Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 20
By Farhad Daneshvar - Trend:
Connecting Iran's railway to Azerbaijan will contribute to materializing the North-South corridor project, Iranian envoy to Azerbaijan told Trend.
After launching Rasht-Astara railroad and connecting Qazvin to Astara through the railway, the plan for the transit of goods from the Persian Gulf to Russia and the Black Sea as well as the Europe will be realized, Ambassador Mohsen Pak Ayeen said.
The period for transiting goods from India to the Europe will be much shorten after the North-South corridor is completed, he added.
Explaining that the goods are currently transited from India to the Europe within 60 days, Mohsen Pak Ayeen said after completing the North-South corridor the transit period will be less than 14 days.
North-South corridor is a project for connecting Europe to India through several countries including Azerbaijan and Iran, lessening shipment time from 40 to 14 days end-to-end.
According to the ambassador, the Astara-Rasht railroad has moved up the agenda and within the next couple of years the railway will connect Iran's northern corridor to its southern corridor.
A ground breaking ceremony for the construction of Astara-Rast railroad will take place on April 20 in the border of Iran Azerbaijan.
Iranian ICT Minister Mahmoud Vaezi and the Economy Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev will attend the ceremony.