TEHRAN - An agreement for the construction of Iran’s Rasht-Astara railway was signed on Wednesday between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia in a ceremony attended by the presidents of the two countries via video conference.

As reported by the portal of the Iranian Transport and Urban Development Ministry, the agreement has been signed with the aim of completing the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC).

According to this agreement, the Russian Federation will invest 1.6 billion euros in this railway route.

Back in January, Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash met with the Russian president's special envoy Igor Levitin to review the progress in railway cooperation between the two countries and stressed accelerating the development of INSTC.

Bazrpash and Levitin also talked about Iran’s railway projects that Russia is already participating in and explored ways of developing cooperation even further.

EF/MA