Iranian Minister, Russian Official Discuss Progress of Rasht-Astara Railway Project

Iran and Russia monitored the level of progress of the Rasht-Astara Railway project.

Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and Aide to the Russian President Igor met in Tehran after almost three months in order to monitor the implementation of the Rasht-Astara Railway project and promotion of transit along the INSTC, the website of Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development reported.

Chairman of the Russian State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutskiy also attended the meeting in order to monitor the latest status of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), multilateral transport agreements, and the implementation process of the Rasht-Astara Railway project.

The two sides highlighted the development of transit and the increase in the volume of transit through Iran, the report added. Also, the completion of the INSTC by construction of the 164-km Rasht-Astara Railway project was discussed.

In this meeting, the two sides emphasized improving bilateral cooperation and implementing multilateral transport agreements to increase transit along the INSTC. They also called for collaboration in railway development between Iran and Russia to increase freight transport between the two countries.

In February, Bazrpash hosted Igor Levitin and his delegation in Tehran to discuss the promotion of transit along the INSTC and the acceleration of the Rasht-Astara Railway Project, the ministry added. - Tasnim