TEHRAN – In a meeting on Thursday, transport ministries of Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan agreed to form a working group in order to activate the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

The meeting was held in Russia’s Sochi port, attended by Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami, Russia’s Minister of Transport Yevgeny Dietrich, and Transport Minister of Azerbaijan Ramin Gholizadeh.

During the trilateral meeting, the ministers discussed issues related to the corridor as well as the roadmap to make the corridor operational.

INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for transporting freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

The route primarily involves transferring freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali, etc.

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