/ world today news/ On May 17, 2023, an Agreement was signed in Tehran between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on cooperation in the financing of the design, construction and supply of goods and services for the establishment of the Rasht-Astara railway in Iran to develop the transport network along the international transport corridor “North – South”.
Russian President V.V. was present at the signing ceremony via video link. Putin and the President of Iran Ibrahim Raisi. Addressing those present at the ceremony, the Russian president noted: “The signing of the Russian-Iranian agreement marks the beginning of the implementation of a truly large-scale project to create an international North-South transport corridor.
We have talked a lot about the importance of building this thoroughfare transport artery, which is designed to connect Russian ports in the Baltic Sea and the North Seas with Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean coasts. I remind you that a principled decision on the joint work of Russia and Iran in this direction was taken during the summit negotiations in Tehran in July 2022.
Today we are witnessing that idea finally coming to fruition. A 162-kilometer railway line will be laid between the Iranian cities of Rasht and Astara. It appears to be a small section, but its commissioning will allow direct and continuous rail communication to be established along the entire length of the North-South route.
The fact that we are successfully cooperating within such a large-scale project reflects the high level, fruitful, mutually beneficial nature of Russian-Iranian relations. In both Russia and Iran, strengthening trade, economic and other bilateral ties is indeed of paramount importance. These relationships are built on the principles of good neighborliness, respect and respect for the interests of others.
The unique North-South transport artery, part of which will become the Rasht-Astara railway, will help significantly diversify global transport flows. Transport along the new corridor will have significant competitive advantages. For example, delivery of goods from St. Petersburg to Mumbai (India) will take only about 10 days instead of 30-45 days if you follow traditional trade routes. The volume of freight flows will increase significantly, the transit potential of Russia and Iran will be strengthened, whose goods will have more convenient and geographically diverse access to foreign markets.
The new highway is intended to be used, among other things, to transport food and other agricultural products destined for consumers in Iran and other Gulf and African countries. This transport corridor will make a tangible contribution to food security.
The economic benefits for Russia and Iran are also obvious. The income from the transportation of goods along the North-South corridor and the more intensive loading of the ports of both countries stimulate the development of related types of business. It will be necessary to form large logistics and production clusters. And this means that new jobs will appear and the investment attractiveness of the Russian and Iranian regions through which the new transport routes will pass will increase.
In response, the Iranian president noted: Undoubtedly, this agreement is a very serious step in the rapidly developing bilateral cooperation between Iran and Russia. This corridor and all the countries that are connected to the project – both in the western part and in the eastern part of this corridor – in fact, it is a symbol of friendship of a multilateral nature between our countries. This project will give a great impetus to the development of comprehensive cooperation.
I want to emphasize that this project has three branches. The Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran are the eastern branch. With joint efforts, this route is now operational … .
The central branch across the Caspian Sea has great potential. We need to strengthen the capabilities in our ports, the capacity of the ports. With the participation of Russian companies, this also works and works.
The western branch is not yet available. Through the implementation of this agreement, we will be able to fill this gap so that we have three active branches through which we can transport goods and promote our projects … In fact, this is only one possible project that we have just managed to negotiable, but there are many such projects.
There is another project between Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. We need to strengthen the railway infrastructure between Iran and Iraq. All efforts have been made in this direction. Or [пътят] from the port of Chabahar in the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, and then through the territory of the Russian Federation and then along the European route.
These are all possible options for cooperation with such a large country as the Russian Federation. I believe that all these projects will be in the commercial and economic interest of our countries. I’m sure of that. We have great economic potential … We must use all forces, means and opportunities to implement all these projects ».
Translation: ES
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