On 9 October, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev met with First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov, according to Cabinet of Ministers, Azernews reports.
It was noted that the meeting discussed prospects of cooperation in the transport and logistics sector, including the implementation of the North-South transport corridor project and cooperation in the shipbuilding sector.
It should be noted that the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-km (4500 mile) long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation via ship, rail and road. The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali, etc.
Besides, dry runs of two routes were conducted in 2014, the first was Mumbai to Baku via Bandar Abbas and the second was Mumbai to Astrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Bandar Anzali.