President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, on the sidelines of the First Science and Technology Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on September 10 in Astana.
During the meeting, President Hassan Rouhani said the railway project is of crucial importance in terms of international cooperation.
Pointing at the significance of the North-South transport corridor, Rouhani said Azerbaijan-Iran-Russia trilateral cooperation is of vital importance for regional and international cooperation.
The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.
The corridor is planned to transport 6 million tons of cargo per year at the initial stage and 15-20 million tons of cargo in the future.
Iran and Azerbaijan are expected to launch transporting goods and cargos through the International North-South Transport Corridor in the coming months, amid efforts to boost trade ties between the two neighboring countries.
The two countries, within the International North-South Transport Corridor, are making efforts to connect their railways through the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara route.
Azerbaijan earlier agreed to provide 60 million euros for developing railway facilities in Iranian city of Astara.
To complete the railway links of the transport corridor, Iran had earlier agreed to construct inland railway segments in northern parts of the country in order to extend its railway network to the areas bordering the neighboring Azerbaijan through the two cities of Astara on both sides.
The initial plan included the Qazvin-Rasht and Rasht-Astara railway segments. In the meantime, Azerbaijan has launched a construction project to extend its railway into Iran’s territory.
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