Iran Press/ Iran News: Following the working visit of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to Iran to convene bilateral meetings for broadening cooperation, three MoUs were signed on May 25, including the 12th protocol of the meeting for the Working Group on Transport Cooperation.
The protocol is signed by Iran's Deputy Transport Minister, Shahriyar Afandizadeh, and Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Zverev.
The two countries are pursuing a policy to increase comprehensive cooperation in various sectors following the talks, including economic, trade, business, transport, logistics, investment, financial, banking, energy, and petrochemistry.
According to the Russian Government statement, the two sides discussed the development of partnerships in transport, including logistics centers and services for the transshipment of Russian cargo at the ports of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf and cross-border cooperation between the regions of Russia and Iran.
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a vital transport plan that is expected to considerably boost the transit and trade of Iran and Russia with the countries of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
"It is a landmark project that could become key in promoting our trade and economic cooperation. Today's traffic is about 15 million tons, and over the next three to five years, it may grow to 30-50 million tons. We agreed that we need to draw up a detailed action plan to start expanding the capacity of this transport logistics network." Alexander Novak, Russian Deputy PM, said.
"We also discussed the specific steps we need to take to increase the volume of transportation by sea and expand the use of seaports both on the territory of Russia and on the territory of Iran – with the launch of a container ferry service," Alexander Novak added.
Iran and Russia continue working to create favorable conditions for expanding economic cooperation; as Novak said, "Special conditions are being created to support a dramatic expansion of cooperation."
While the commercial turnover had been almost $4 billion at the end of 2021, Tehran intends to boost Iran's trade with Russia to $40 billion, Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji said, adding that a particular working group headed by First Vice President of Iran had been established for this purpose.
Earlier on April 30, Transport Ministers of Iran, Rostam Ghasemi, and Russia Minister of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev, signed a comprehensive transport agreement in Moscow after mutual negotiations.
Noteworthy, Iran and Russia joint Economic Commission will be held soon, and the high-level meetings are preparing for the upcoming joint commission.
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