Russian Expert: Azerbaijan is active participant, recipient of INSTC project's dividends

By Trend

Azerbaijan is not just a transit territory, but also an active participant in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project with large forecasted dividends, Vadim Kozyulin, Candidate of Political Sciences, Professor of the Academy of Military Science, Director of the Asian Security Project at the PIR Center told Trend.

The INSTC project has been modified over 20 years. As it turned from an idea into a reality, new participants connected to the INSTC, Kozyulin said.

“One of the three main routes of the project, the South-West Transport Corridor, runs through the territory of Azerbaijan. It does not just pass through this territory, but connects Azerbaijan with Russia, Europe, Iran, India and many other countries. For the economy of all participants, this is approximately the same as the opening of a subway between the districts of the city, where traffic jams used to be, and you had to get to the desired point bypassing the ring road. Only in our case, these areas are scattered thousands of kilometers away. The benefits of the new railway binder are obvious, and all participants will receive dividends when the corridor is fully operational,” the political expert noted.

“Azerbaijan is not just a transit territory, but an active participant in the project and the beneficiary. The INSTC brings not only obvious economic benefits, but also will strengthen the political and sociocultural relations of the participating countries,” Kozyulin added.

The foundation of the International North-South Transport Corridor was laid on September 12, 2000 according to an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran and India. Azerbaijan joined this agreement in 2005. In general, 13 following countries have ratified this agreement.

The goal of creating the corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargos from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe. The new corridor is expected to reduce the delivery time from six to three weeks.