Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko talked to President of Russia Vladimir Putin over the phone in the evening on 17 March. Among other things the heads of state discussed prospects of construction of the North-South transport corridor, which will cross Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.
The relevant matter was raised during an official visit of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko to Iran on 12-13 March. Belarus intends to participate in the development of this international transport corridor alongside Iran and Russia. Belarusian Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko said: “Iran needs to build about 180 kilometers of railway today. And the country has actively embarked on this work in order to finish the North-South railway corridor towards the port of Bandar Abbas. This is also important for us, because when we talk about transportation in Iran, we also talk about transit through Iran to distant countries. This is a very important corridor, and we have agreed to develop it together.”
After talks between the presidents of Belarus and Iran a protocol was signed to amend the intergovernmental agreement on international road haulage of 4 February 1998. “This means that our shipping companies just like Iranian ones will face no barriers in bilateral transportation,” the minister explained.
Apart from that, on 17 March Head of Belarusian Railways Vladimir Morozov met with Sergei Almeyev, Head of Privolzhskaya Railways, a branch of Russian Railways. The parties discussed cooperation in freight shipment as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project. It was noted that demand for freight transportation along this route grows higher every year. The volume of cargo transportation along the land route of the North-South transport corridor and using the port infrastructure of the Caspian Sea is on the rise. New effective transport and logistics schemes and shipping terms are being developed. This is why matters concerning the development of the railway and port infrastructures were discussed as well as future prospects of shipping Belarusian exports along the North-South transport corridor while Belarusian cargo owners are busy working out new transportation and logistic schemes for shipping freight.
Written by belta.by
