New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI) An India-bound Russian cargo, sent by train for the first time using the ambitious the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), has reached Iran after travelling around 3,800 km through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The train carrying 39 freight containers entered Iran on Tuesday through the Sarkhas railway station on the border with Turkmenistan, Iranian media reported.
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
India has been supporting the project.
From the Sarkhas railway station, the cargo will be taken to Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran using a 1,600-km rail route from where it will be shipped to India by sea, the report said.
The Iranian authorities organised a ceremony to welcome the train and it was attended by First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber along with transport, oil, industry, and agriculture ministers, according to Tehran Times.
In his address at the ceremony, Mokhber stressed the Iranian government’s determination for expanding trade with neighbouring countries, especially in the transit sector, it said.
The train had left Chekhov station in Russia on July 6 and travelled 3,800 km through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to enter Iran, the report said.
The shipment of the cargo using the INSTC comes amid the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Iran next week and further boosting connectivity in the region could figure in the talks.
Iran and Russia are also looking at using the Caspian Sea to cut the transit route from Russia to India.
India has also been pushing for boosting regional connectivity.
It is already working with Iran to develop the Chabahar port.
India has proposed to include the port in the framework of the INSTC.
At a connectivity conference in Tashkent last year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar projected the Chabahar Port as a key regional transit hub including to Afghanistan.
Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran’s southern coast, the Chabahar port is being increasingly seen as a fulcrum of connectivity to Central Asia. PTI MPB ZMN
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