Russian Cargo to Be Dispatched to Iran Through Azerbaijan

Russian cargo dispatched regularly by railroads will be transported through Azerbaijan to Iran’s Astara city in Gilan Province in the north of the country, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali wrote on his Twitter page.
He noted that in this regard, the Rasht-Astara railroad will be launched in the near future, Azernews reported.
The ambassador added that Iran and Russia intend to eliminate cargo transportation problems to develop trade relations between the two countries, adding that positive results are being achieved in this direction.
The International North-South Transportation Corridor Agreement was signed by Russia, Iran and India on Sept. 12, 2000, at St. Petersburg and entered into force on May 21, 2002. Azerbaijan joined the corridor deal in 2005.
Thirteen countries have ratified the agreement, including Iran, Russia, India, Turkey and Azerbaijan`.
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 six weeks, and it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via INSTC.
The 175-km-long Qazvin-Rasht railroad was officially put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijani railroads with the Iranian railroad network within the corridor. In addition, the 167-km-long Rasht-Astara rail segment needs to be built in Iran.
Russia has invited Azerbaijan and Iran to create a logistical operator for the western flank of INSTC, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said at the 15th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in October.
"Today, the historically established transport infrastructure of both Russia and other countries, which was primarily formed on the basis of the principle of parallels, in other words, on the East-West horizon, is already ceasing to meet the global trends and the realities we are facing. The meridian routes, the North-South route in the first place, are starting to play a key role today," Belousov was quoted as saying by Interfax.
“With its access to the Persian Gulf states, India, China and Africa, INSTC could become an actual competitor to the Suez Canal in the future.”