Tehran, Moscow discuss accelerating Rasht-Astara railway construction
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari and Russian officials conferred on ways to resolve the existing obstacles to the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway.
Safari, who is in Moscow to attend the first meeting of BRICS representatives in 2024, in separate meetings on Thursday met and held talks with Russian presidential aide Igor Levitin and Deputy Minister of Transport Dmitry Zverev, IRNA reported.
Pointing to the two countries’ presidents’ emphasis on accelerating the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, Safari urged the swift settlement of the remaining issues to sign the executive contract of this agreement.
Meanwhile, Russian officials also called for removing existing obstacles in the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, while pointing to expert talks with their Iranian counterparts.
On May 17, 2023, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia signed an agreement worth $1.6 billion to build the Rasht-Astara railway, a project in northern Iran that will be key to transit of cargo through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was present in the ceremony where the contract was signed. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended via a video conference link.
The 162-kilometer railway will connect the city of Rasht, near the Caspian Sea, to Astara on the border with Azerbaijan. Once completed, the rail link will allow rail freight transport from the Persian Gulf to Helsinki in Finland via Russia’s Saint Petersburg.