Iranian President Spotlights North–South Corridor During Trip To Armenia

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has announced that the International North-South Transport Corridor will be a key topic during his upcoming visit to Armenia.

Speaking on August 18 in Tehran, Pezeshkian said the corridor could open new opportunities for bilateral cooperation and noted that the East-West route could further facilitate regional trade, The Caspian Post informs via local media.

He also expressed concerns about the presence of American companies in the region, citing past incidents of unexpected or undesirable actions under the guise of commercial activity.

The North-South Corridor, established through a 2000 intergovernmental agreement among Russia, Iran, and India, has since been ratified by several countries, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The initiative aims to cut cargo delivery times from India to Russia and Northern and Western Europe from over six weeks via current routes to an expected three weeks.

Key infrastructure developments include the Qazvin-Rasht railway in Iran, inaugurated in March 2019, linking Azerbaijan’s rail network with Iran, and a planned extension from Rasht to Astara. Within Iran, the corridor has three main routes: the eastern route via Turkmenistan and Central Asia, the central route via the Caspian Sea to Russia, and the western route connecting Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern Europe.