TEHRAN, February 25. /TASS/. Moscow expects the construction of the Rasht-Astara railroad section of the North-South international transport corridor to start in the near future, for which an export loan will be extended, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference following talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
"We expressed satisfaction with the fact that the Iranian friends are taking all steps that should be taken before the start of the construction of the Rasht-Astara railroad. We expect the construction to start in the near future," he said, adding that "for this purpose a Russian export loan will be extended."
"The Rasht-Astara segment will allow making a very important step, being a necessary element for the full-fledged launch of the North-South international transport corridor," the minister noted.
On May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to jointly build the Rasht-Astara railroad segment, which will make it possible to connect overland sections of the North-South international transport corridor and boost the economic efficiency of the Trans-Caspian route. Earlier reports said that Russia would extend a 1.3 bln euro sovereign loan to implement the project, with its total cost estimated at 1.6 bln euro.
An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the multimodal transport corridor North-South spanning 7,200 km was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000. Later, the number of participants rose to 14. The project is aimed at attracting transit of cargo flows from India, Iran and the Persian Gulf countries through Russian territory to Europe.