ASTRAKHAN, August 22. /TASS/. Iran is pleased to see trade turnover along the North-South corridor demonstrating annual growth, Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said.
"The North-South logistics corridor is of great importance and is worth paying attention to," the diplomat said. "All Caspian countries are on the route of this corridor. We are very pleased that the cargo turnover of this corridor is increasing every year," he added.
The ambassador called the Caspian Sea a "living link" uniting the countries of the region. Among the main challenges facing them Jalali highlighted "the ecology of the Caspian Sea, the management of its resources, maritime transport, the security of communications, and non-interference of other forces in this space as a particularly important point."
"The entry of any foreign force into this region will not benefit any other party," he stressed.
An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the multimodal transport corridor North-South 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. Currently the project unites several various transport systems of separate countries.