BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 4. Kazakhstan is interested in boosting trade relations with Iran under the International North-South Transport Corridor project by establishing a logistics center in the Bandar Abbas County of Hormozgan Province in southern Iran, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Iran Ontalap Onalbayev said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a meeting with members of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture in Lorestan Province, located in western Iran.
According to him, with this transport corridor and logistics center, Kazakhstan will be able to throw its hat in the ring and tap into the markets of the Persian Gulf countries.
The ambassador pointed out that in the first half of this year, the trade turnover between Iran and Kazakhstan hit nearly $245 million, with Kazakhstan's exports making up $144 million and Iran's exports contributing $101 million.
In the coming months, as it was noted, trade turnover is expected to grow with the implementation of transit routes and joint projects.
Onalbayev articulated that Kazakhstan is poised to cultivate
avenues for Iranian investors, emphasizing that the Kazakh
government extends tailored opportunities for foreign investors,
encompassing fiscal incentives, investment assurances, and the
entitlement to protracted residency.
He drove home that through synergistic engagement and collaborative
frameworks involving the private sector and stakeholders from
Lorestan Province, optimal conditions can be engineered to
facilitate the establishment of sustainable economic linkages
between Lorestan entrepreneurs and Kazakh investors.
To note, an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000, laid the foundation for the North-South Transport Corridor. In general, several countries have ratified the said agreement (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine). The purpose of creating the corridor is to reduce the time of delivery of goods coming from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe (the delivery time on the current route is more than six weeks; it is expected to be three weeks via “North-South”).
The Qazvin-Rasht railroad (175 km) was put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijan's railroads with Iran's railway network within the corridor. The Rasht-Astara railroad is to be built on Iranian territory.
The North-South Corridor has three directions within Iran. The eastern direction is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries; the middle direction is Russia and other countries across the Caspian Sea; and the western direction is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.
On May 17, 2023, an agreement was signed between Russia and Iran on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railroad in Gilan province in northern Iran. Nine stations will be built on the Rasht-Astara railroad line, which is about 163 kilometers long. With the completion of this railroad, the North-South international corridor will be improved, and Iran's railroad network will be integrated with the Caucasus countries, Russia, and Northern European countries. According to the agreement, the Russian side is expected to spend 1.6 billion euro for the construction of this railroad. This railroad will be built and completed within 48 months.
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