TEHRAN, August 25. /TASS/. Tehran plans to increase cooperation with Russia and China within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"Apart from bilateral interaction with Russia, Iran also sees regional and international organizations such as the EAEU, the SCO and BRICS as constructive platforms for cooperation with their member states, especially Russia and China, in order to effectively resist [attempts] to build a unipolar world," Pezheshkian’s press service quoted him as saying.
The Iranian president added that he had personal control of the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section of the North-South International Transport Corridor.
On May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement for the joint construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section. Moscow is providing Tehran with an interstate loan of 1.3 billion euros for the project, with total construction costs estimated at 1.6 billion euros. The Rasht-Astara section is expected to be constructed by Moscow and Tehran, while the section connecting the Iranian city of Astara and the Azerbaijani city of the same name will be built by Moscow, Tehran and Baku.
An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the North-South Transport Corridor spanning 7,200 km was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000. Later, the number of participants rose to 14. The project is seen by Russia and Iran as an alternative to the Suez Canal trade route, which will reduce the time of transportation of cargoes in Eurasia. The western overland branch of the corridor passes through Azerbaijan, while its eastern branch passes through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. The sea route runs through the Caspian Sea.