News in Brief
Kyrgyzstan asks Iran to supply oil products, modernize refinery
Kyrgyzstan on Thursday requested Iran to supply oil products, particularly gasoline, gas oil, jet fuel, kerosene, and bitumen, and overhaul and modernize one of the Central Asian country’s refineries.
It made the request in a meeting attended by Kyrgyzstan’s energy and transport ministers and Iran’s oil and roads ministers on the sidelines of the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States in the Kyrgyz capital city of Bishkek, Shana reported.
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji asked the Kyrgyz side to submit a list of products with quantity and quality details to help Tehran outline a plan for cooperation with Bishkek.
Tehran, Moscow invest $38b on
INSTC project
Iran and Russia have so far invested $38 billion to boost shipping lines for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which links Asia to Europe.
Addressing a gathering in the opening ceremony of an international conference, dubbed “The INSTC; a New Concept,” in the Russian city of Astrakhan on Friday, Daryush Jamali, the director of the Iranian-operated port of Salianka in Russia, named the corridor as “a key element of the Eurasian transport network,” IRNA reported.
He added Tehran and Moscow have almost equal shares of the investment, elaborating that 330 wagons as well as 54,000 containers have so far been purchased and negotiations are underway for the construction of 21 ships for the corridor.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia, the director of Afghanistan’s railway, the director of the Iraqi railway, and the head of the North-South Integration Club were among the participants of the event.
The 7,200-km ship, rail, and road corridor is planned for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and onwards to Europe to increase trade connectivity between major cities en route.