Kazakhstan, Russia advance eastern route of North-South Transport Corridor

Kazakhstan and Russia have discussed further development of the eastern route of the International North-South Transport Corridor, Azernews reports via Kazakhstan's Transport Ministry.

The discussions took place in Moscow between Kazakhstan's Minister of Transport, Marat Karabayev, and Russia's Minister of Transport, Roman Starovoyt.

They also addressed the enhancement of transportation to Russian ports, highlighting active collaboration in railway transport and focusing on expanding air communications between the two countries.

Following the meeting, the ministers agreed to maintain close contact and strengthen cooperation in the most promising areas of bilateral transport development.

The International North-South Transport Corridor is a 7,200 km multimodal route connecting St. Petersburg with ports in Iran and India. It serves as an alternative to the sea route linking Europe with the Persian Gulf countries and the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

The corridor's western and eastern branches traverse Iran; the western branch uses road transport through Rasht, while the eastern branch relies on rail. The final destination in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas, from which cargo can be shipped to India by sea. The western branch also passes through Azerbaijan, and the eastern branch passes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.