As trade with Arab countries increases, Russia confirms interest in the amphibious “North-South” shipping corridor

Reshetnikov made the statement during an interview with Izvestia newspaper on the sidelines of his visit to Azerbaijan on Monday, as part of a delegation headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Baku.

Reshetnikov said that the North-South transport corridor, which connects Russia and the Eurasian countries with the Gulf region, includes three routes: the eastern corridor, which passes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, the second corridor, which passes through the Caspian Sea, and the western corridor, which passes through Azerbaijan and Iran, and which the Iranian side is completing its construction through a loan.

The Russian Minister added that the three routes will together provide strong opportunities, as they are primarily alternative routes, and secondly, they are competitive routes to traditional shipping routes, as they shorten shipping periods and reduce costs.

Last year, Moscow and Tehran signed an agreement to build a 162-kilometer railway between the port of Astara and the city of Rasht in Iran, a move that is a continuation of the strategic “North-South” transport project.

The North-South shipping corridor is a multimodal route from St. Petersburg to the port of Mumbai in India, with a length of 7.2 thousand kilometers, passing through Iran.

The corridor is considered an alternative route to the maritime navigation route, which connects Europe, the Gulf States and the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal, and includes “North-South” 3 international shipping routes: via the Caspian Sea (using railways and ports) and two land routes, western and eastern.

Source: RT + “Izvestia”