MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. Russia gave its consent to Turkmenistan’s accession to the agreement on the North-South international transport corridor. The corresponding order was signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

"To accept the proposal of the Russian Transport Ministry, agreed with the Russian Foreign Ministry and other interested executive authorities, on the expression by of consent the Russian side to Turkmenistan's accession to the agreement on the North-South International Transport Corridor," the document says.

The Russian Foreign Ministry was also instructed to notify Iran of its consent to Turkmenistan's accession to the agreement.

Earlier, Turkmenistan announced plans to become a participant in the project. Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of the country Mammetkhan Chakiyev reported that work in this direction is underway. It was also noted that due to its geographical location, Turkmenistan plays an important role in the development of global supply chains.

The intergovernmental agreement on the creation of a multimodal North-South transport corridor was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000. Later, the list of participants expanded to 14. The goal of the project is to attract the transit of cargo flows from India, Iran and the Persian Gulf countries through Russian territory to Europe. Compared to the sea route through the Suez Canal, the distance is more than halved, which reduces the time and cost of transportation. Now the project combines several different transport systems of individual states.