Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran launching "North-South" to Astara

Iranian ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali predicted the operationalization of regular rail transport of goods from Russia's territories to the northern Iranian city of Astara in the near future.

“The issue of solving the problems of transporting goods between Iran and Russia was and is one of the main issues in the development of trade relations between the two countries," Jalali said in a tweet about solving the problems of transporting goods between Iran and Russia.

“Fortunately, we are achieving good achievements in this field; regular rail transport of goods from Russia to Astara [in the north of Iran bordering Azerbaijan], is one of these cases that will be launched in the near future”, he added. 

In an interview with the Russian media recently, the Iranian diplomat pointed to the increase in trade exchanges between Iran and Russia and said that Iran is seeking to meet its domestic needs for foodstuffs from Russia.

"We are now trying to buy grain, oilseeds and sunflower oil from Russia. We are also trying to provide Russia with products and food that it needs," he said. 

 "We are making efforts to guarantee that our basic needs [are met], and that basic goods are purchased from our northern neighbor," the diplomat stressed.

The Iranian envoy also stressed that the trade volume between the two countries in 2022 is 27% higher than 2021.

"We are also focusing on the North-South international transport corridor, with plans to expand the transport and logistics infrastructure towards the Caspian Sea," President of Russia Vladimir Putin told the meeting of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and National Projects.