Iranian FM: Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia determined to up potential of North-South corridor

By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia are determined to increase the potential of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani said.

He made the remarks at a press conference in Tehran on September 12.

According to Kanaani, there is a clear and gratifying perspective regarding this corridor. He noted that in the economic aspect, the INSTC is profitable in terms of reducing both the time and costs of cargo transportation.

Further, he added that the three countries have agreed on accelerating the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line within the International North-South Transport Corridor. The only part within the mentioned corridor that lacks a railway is the Rasht-Astara segment.

Last week, Russian and Iranian ministers arrived in Baku to attend a trilateral meeting of the Russian-Azerbaijani-Iran Working Group on the development of the North-South international transport corridor.

Within the framework of the meeting, the sides have signed the Baku Declaration on the development of the mentioned international transport corridor.

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 northern and western Europe. The delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, and it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via the North-South Transport Corridor.

The 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 must be built in Iran.