TEHRAN – Chairman of the Russian-Iranian Business Council (RIDS) Vladimir Obydenov on Monday called the development of the North-South International Corridor vital for Tehran and Moscow.
Obydenov said that it is the shortest route from Europe to southern and southeastern Asian countries that pass through Iran and Russia. He also described it as so important for those countries.
“I am sure that the corridor will form the backbone of the development of the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran,” Obydenov added.
International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is multi-modal transportation established in 2000 for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States. This corridor connects the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via the Islamic Republic of Iran and is then connected to Saint Petersburg and North European via Russia.
Instability and insecurity in the West Asia and the insecurity of sea routes have increased the potential of replacing the Suez Canal with a North-South corridor.
This railway route stretches from China to India, and from India to Pakistan and continues to the northern Iranian city of Rasht.
“Iran’s full membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will increase trade between the union and Iran,” the Russian economic official said. He further added that this will be primarily due to the lack of customs obstacles on the way of transportation of goods.
He continued, “Iran’s membership in the EAEU will help Iranian and Russian merchants not to go through the long process of bureaucracy in custom offices of the two countries.”
Obydenov noted that Iran’s membership in EAEU and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will lead to the development of the North-South Corridor, the creation of a joint Iranian-Russian farming center in south Russia as well as a joint Iranian-Russian farming center in Iran.