TEHRAN: A memorandum of understanding for connecting the railroad of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Iran was signed in Astara-Astara meeting, as a result of which the project for connecting the railroad of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Iran got underway in a bid to revive the North-South Corridor, or the same ancient Silk Road.
The document was signed in presence of Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mahmoud Vaezi, and the Republic of Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy and Industry Shahin Mustafayev, after two days of intense negotiations. The signatories were head of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s railroad company and the managing director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways.
At present, oil and gas producing countries seek to diversify their economies in order to reduce dependence on oil revenues. By pursuing this goal and in view of their geographical situation, Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have made turning into active players in the field of regional transportation, one of their major goals. At the moment, Iran and Azerbaijan must invest in big transportation projects before a new stage of the global economic crisis begins, and in an optimal situation, play the role of transportation hubs for other regional countries. The political will of the two countries for the development of their relations in addition to the positive trend that exists in bilateral relations are important advantages, which provide Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan with great potential in order to pursue their joint economic goals in the field of transit.
Historical records show that implementing large-scale projects for the establishment of a diverse transportation infrastructure started at least 15 years ago in the Republic of Azerbaijan. As a gateway to Caucasus, this country has been initiator and a partner to Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway; is going through final stage of building an international commercial port in the municipality of Alat; has made operational a new terminal at Heydar Aliyev International Airport; has launched the region’s largest ferry terminal in the newly built international seaport of Yeni Baki; has built or repaired about 11,000 kilometers of highways and 300 bridges over the past decade; has commissioned six modern airports; and has allocated more than USD 20 billion to be invested in turning the country into a key hub for regional transportation.
Iran, on the other hand, is like a geographical bridge connecting Russia and Caucasus to free waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and the Iran route is the safest, the closest and the most economic transportation route for neighboring countries. Launching the Astara-Rasht railroad and transportation of commodities through the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman at suitable tariff rates, facilitation of formalities related to issuing transit visas, and speeding up the process of cargo transport will help Azerbaijan to really turn into an active player in the field of transportation and also get close to its objective for reducing dependence on oil and gas revenues. The Republic of Azerbaijan, being located at the junction of Europe and Asia, can provide grounds for the transport of goods and passengers from Asia to Europe and vice versa through Rasht-Astara railroad, and can also connect Iran to Russia via railroad.
The document, which was signed in Astara, is to be implemented in two stages, according to which Azerbaijan’s national rail network will continue up to the border with Iran. After that, a terminal with the capacity to handle five million tons of goods will be built in Iran’s Astara city in addition to a bridge crossing the two countries’ border river with a 50-percent share for each country in its construction.
