Tehran, February 28, 2024 (MRUD NEWS)—Iran deputy transport minister, Kamal Hadianfar, met with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Azbrov, today in Tehran to confer on mutual transport agendas, development of transit along the INSTC, and acceleration of Rasht-Astara Railway Project.
In the meeting, to facilitate transit between Iran and Russia, Hadianfar proposed for removing transit permit system to speed up transit between the two countries.
He further said Iran has attempted to solve the problems of Russian drivers at the Astara Border to a large extent, and some problems are also being solved through negotiations with Azerbaijan.
Currently, the process of Russian trucks passing through Astara Border is favorable, but we hope that by removing some restrictions, the number of trucks crossing the border of Azerbaijan will double, Hadianfar said.
Hadianfar reminded that Iran is ready to host the 8th Coordination Council of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and this meeting should be held as soon as possible so that the activation of the INSTC will speed up.
Dmitry Azbrov, the Russian Deputy Minister of Transport, stated that Iran and Russia's transport cooperation are important not only for the region but also for the transportation policies of the world.
The Russian Deputy Minister of Transport said, in 2023, we reached freight transit to 600,000 tons through Iran. He considered the fourfold increase in the road transport of Russian cargo through Iran's territory very important and said: "It is aimed to increase the cargo transportation along the INSTC via Iran to 4 million tons per year in 2024".
Additionally, he explained about plans to increase cargo transit along the INSTC in its eastern part and through the territory of Kazakhstan in 2024 until the operation of Rasht-Astara Railway project, adding that the western side of the corridor has the capacity to transit 10 million tons freight.
In July 2023, Iran and Russia signed the executory contract for construction of Rasht-Astara Railway Project on the sidelines of the third trilateral meeting of Iran, Russia, and India on INSTC held on July 4 in Tehran. During the meeting, Igor Levitin, the aide to the President of the Russian Federation, said the freight transit will reach to 30 million tons per year.