The Islamic Republic of Iran could become a transport hub for imports from third countries to Russia, as well as exports of Russian grain and sunflower oil. Iranian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Russia Kazem Jalali, who is on visit to Dagestan, told TASS about this.
"We are interested in importing grain, sunflower oil from Russia to Iran. And on a reciprocal basis Iran can send a lot of goods to Russia - we have agreed on many such goods. <...> Iran can become a very good hub for importing goods through Iran to Russia. Those goods that we can produce ourselves, we would send to Russia, and if something is needed - we can buy it elsewhere and bring it to Russia through Iran. Therefore, we are working on this issue very seriously, too," Jalali said.
According to him, transportation is carried out through the North-South corridor, which has road, rail and combined with sea connections.
As the Ambassador noted, for the development of the railway track, the issue of construction of the Resht-Astara railway section, in which Russia is expected to participate, is being considered.
"The railway starts from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Finland and St. Petersburg. <...> Now, of course, [the road] is not completed, I mean between Resht and Astara. We are working on the issue of building this section bilaterally with Russia," Jalali added.
Iran is also interested in developing air transport links between the countries, in particular, in opening direct flights between Makhachkala and Tehran. However, according to him, Russian companies currently have more chances to launch regular flights. "We have a common history, culture and civilization. <...> Dagestan is one of the regions from where Iranians come to Russia. This has been historically [established] since long ago, " Jalali added.
North-South corridor
The intergovernmental agreement on the North-South Multimodal Transport Corridor was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000, and later joined by several other states. Moscow ratified the document in 2002. The aim of the project is to provide cargo transit from India, Iran and the Persian Gulf countries through Russian territory to Europe. Compared to the maritime route through the Suez Canal, the distance is more than halved, reducing transport time and costs.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
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Based on materials from TASS