NEW DELHI, April 19. /TASS/. Shipments via the International North-South Transport Corridor are rising, albeit very slowly, Chairman of the Caspian international integration club North-South Ramazan Abdulatipov told Russian reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"There is an increase. Currently, around 20,000 containers [are carried] each year, up from 9,000 containers two years ago. However, the growth is very slow," he said at the opening ceremony for the club’s representative office in India.

According to preliminary estimates, the International North-South Transport Corridor has the capacity to accommodate the delivery of around 6 mln containers per year. "And around 20 mln containers in the future, from Europe to Mumbai via Tehran. <…> I reiterate that it is necessary to work on this together with the government of the Russian Federation as well as the governments of India and Iran," Abdulatipov added.

The International North-South Transport Corridor was discussed at the 24th meeting of the intergovernmental Russian-Indian commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation that took place in the Indian capital on Tuesday, he noted, adding that "a special decision by the intergovernmental commission to invigorate the route was stressed."

An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the International North-South Transport Corridor was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000, with several other countries joining it later. Moscow ratified the document in 2022. The project is aimed at ensuring the transit of cargoes from India, Iran and Persian Gulf countries through Russian territory to Europe.