Russia and Iran earlier announced their readiness to develop cooperation in shipbuilding
Russia and Iran have agreed to establish a joint venture which is to be engage in the purchase and construction of vessels for cargo transportation by international transport corridors North-South and East-West, according to Isna.
During the phone conversation held on 17 May 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi confirmed the intent to expand trade relations and economic cooperation between the countries. Therefore, an agreement on the purchase and construction of 20 vessels was signed.
According to IAA PortNews’ reports, Russia and Iran earlier announced their readiness to develop cooperation in shipbuilding with Iranian shipyards to build ships of large capacity and Russian shipyards to build cargo carriers. Russia also considers investing in seaports of Iran. The Iranian side, in its turn, offers using its seaports as hubs for Russian cargo including transit one.
North-South international transport corridor (ITC) is a 7,200-kilometre-long transport artery from St Petersburg to ports in Iran and India. North-South ITC has a western and an eastern branch, both running across Iran. The western one foresees cargo transportation by road via Rasht, the eastern one – by railway. The end point in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas from which cargo can be delivered to India by sea. The western branch also crosses Azerbaijan, the eastern one – Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Besides, direct water transportation from Russia to Iran by the Caspian Sea is possible.
Cargo traffic on the international transport corridor North-South ITC can reach 35 million tonnes by 2030, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin said on 18 May 2023.