Ministers from Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan to meet on the Rasht-Astara railway branch
The foreign ministers, ministers of transport, energy, and customs authorities from Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan will meet soon to discuss the progress of the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway branch as part of the international North-South transport corridor. This was announced by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Moscow, Kazem Jalali, to journalists, as reported by TASS.
The Ambassador noted that an agreement on the implementation of this project is expected to be signed by March 2025.
On May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement for the joint construction of the Rasht-Astara route. Moscow is providing Tehran with a state loan of €1.3 billion for the project's implementation, with the total construction cost estimated at €1.6 billion. It is expected that the Rasht-Astara line will be built with the participation of Moscow and Tehran, while the Astara (Iranian city) – Astara (Azerbaijani city) line will involve Moscow, Tehran, and Baku.
An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the North-South corridor, with a total length of 7,200 km, was signed by Russia, India, and Iran in 2000. Later, the number of participating countries expanded to 14. Russia and Iran hope that the North-South corridor will serve as an alternative to the Suez Canal and reduce the transportation time for goods across Eurasia. The western land branch of the corridor runs through Azerbaijan, the eastern branch passes through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and the water route operates across the Caspian Sea.
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