According to Ilna, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and India have agreed on a draft document for the development of the “North-South” maritime corridor that connects Russia to the Gulf region Persian. The North-South corridor is an important bridge between European countries. countries, Scandinavia and Russia are known along with the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia.
The Government of Kazakhstan has indicated that the development of this corridor will increase the production capacity of this corridor to 10 million tonnes per year by 2027.
This document includes improving infrastructure and equipment on the route, removing administrative obstacles and creating favorable conditions for transport companies.
The North-South Maritime Corridor is a multimodal route (rail, road and sea) connecting St. Petersburg to the port of Bombay, India, 2.7 thousand kilometers long, which crosses Iran.
This corridor is considered as an alternative route to the maritime shipping route that connects Europe, the Persian Gulf countries and the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal and includes 3 international transit routes from north to south through the Caspian Sea using railways and ports and two land routes, west and east.
Comparing this crossing with the sea route through the Suez Canal, the distance is more than half, reducing transportation time and cost.
The foundation of the North-South transport corridor was signed on September 12, 2000 (22 Shahrivar 1379), based on an agreement between Russia, Iran and India; The Republic of Azerbaijan joined this agreement in 2005.
The countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine also later joined this North-South international corridor agreement.
This project connects routes such as Northern and Western Europe, Russia, Caucasus, Persian Gulf (Western Route), Central Asia, Persian Gulf (Eastern Route) and the Caspian Sea, Iran and the Persian Gulf.
Russia and Iran pay great attention to the development of infrastructure in this corridor and, in this regard, last May Moscow and Tehran signed an agreement for the construction of 162 kilometers of railway between the port of Astara and the city of Rasht. is considered a North-South strategic transport.