New Trade Corridor Between Russia And India Via Iran Tested By Iranian Officials

Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL) last week started the first transfer of Russian goods to India via a new trade corridor which transits the West Asian nation, people on the Iranian side familiar with the developments told news outlets.

The Russian cargo being transported consisted of two 40-foot (12.192 meters) containers of wood laminate sheets, weighing 41 tons.

The cargo ship departed St. Petersburg for the Caspian Sea port city of Astrakhan.

It will reach the northern Iranian port of Anzali and then will be transferred by road to the southern port of Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf. From Bandar Abbas it will reach via ship to India.

Dariush Jamali while speaking to news agencies said that the cargo is destined for the port of Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai’s Raigad. The port is also known as Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

He further added that the cargo transfer is being coordinated and managed by the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines Group and its regional offices in Russia and India and will take slightly more than three weeks to arrive.

The report said that the cargo will travel through the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

It was described as a ‘pilot transfer’ to check the corridor. There were no details as to what the cargo contained.

The authorities in Iran further plan to build a railroad line that can transfer goods arriving at Iranian Caspian Sea ports to the southeastern port of Chabahar.

The war in Ukraine led to Iranian officials thinking of reviving the stalled project to develop the so-called North-South Transit Corridor which can connect Russia via Iran to Asian export markets.

A railroad is also being planned which can transfer goods arriving at Iranian Caspian Sea ports to the southeastern port of Chabahar.

Iranian officials also highlighted that integrated transportation of cargo from Russia and Belarus to India will increase Iran’s transit revenues as Tehran hopes it can benefit from trade between Russia and India which has grown in the wake of the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions of Moscow.

(with inputs from PressTV and Bloomberg News)

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