13 countries ask for facilitating trade, transit at INSTC

Mehrdad Bazrpash made the remarks in the trilateral meeting of Iran, Russia India on the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in Tehran on Monday.

According to the Iranian minister, all the negotiations and agreements are aimed at facilitating greater relations between countries and promoting trade development.

Bazrpash added recently the Iranian side held a meeting with the Russian side on completing Rasht-Astara railway, adding the participation of India in the project was also brought up.

The Iranian minister also called for a conference with the participation of 13 member countries that the corridor crosses through them before the end of 2023.

Referring to targeted plans with India in Chabahar port, Bazrpash considered the potential of this strategic port as one of the main pillars of Iran’s long-term plans.

“We are providing maximum available infrastructure for freight transportation in this corridor, and we envisage increasing it up to 30 million tons”, he pointed out.

According to Bazrpash, the North-South corridor has an impact on global trade, and if unity and coherence are achieved, the intended goals will be materialized.

Stressing that the mission of this corridor is not limited to freight transportation, the Iranian minister considered activating the tourism sector and paying attention to the environment as other important goals of the corridor.

Furthermore, the Iranian road minister called for financial participation in the development and strengthening of the existing infrastructure in the corridor.

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