Iran, Russia discuss building international transport route

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian met on Monday, December 23 in Tehran with Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev, to discuss the implementation of their “North-South International Transport Corridor” (INSTC) project. .

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Mr. Pezeshkian said Iran was determined to complete the construction of the INSTC, a transportation route intended to connect South Asia to Northern Europe, according to a statement from his office.

He stressed that the construction of a railway line in northern Iran was one of the priorities of his administration, and that the railway linking the Iranian cities of Rasht and Astara to the border with Azerbaijan would term an integral part of the INSTC, in accordance with the agreement signed with Russia in May last year.

He added that the Russian side could begin surveying and preliminary work on this railway project.

For his part, Mr. Savelyev called for speeding up the construction of the section crossing northern Iran. Once completed, the line will in its first phase increase the annual freight transport capacity between the two countries to 15 million tonnes, he added.

During the meeting, Mr. Savelyev also invited Mr. Pezeshkian to visit Russia early next year, to allow the two sides to hold negotiations and sign agreements.

Xinhua/VNA/CVN