North-South International Transport Corridor becomes a priority for Global South states

Coordination between Global South states and Russia as a necessary condition for the development of transport corridors of Eurasia became one of the main topics on the business program of the International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum". The Forum is being held in Kazan under the slogan "Trust and Cooperation". Delegations from the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa and Russian regions are participating in the forum.

Speaking at the plenary session of the forum, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk noted the high importance of Russia's cooperation with Islamic states and countries of the Global South. 

"Today there has been a major shift in the global economy from west to east, towards the world's majority countries. We also cooperate closely as regards the development of the North-South International Transport Corridor. Russia is negotiating with a number of Islamic states the extension of free trade zones to their relations, as it already did with Iran. We see that the countries that maintain friendly relations with Russia are successfully developing, creating a synergy effect for all of us," said Alexei Overchuk.
 
During the session devoted to the development of international transport corridors passing through the countries of Asia and the Middle East, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government Marat Khusnullin assured that the development of transport corridors in Eurasia is a priority direction of Russia's state policy.

This being the case, the Eastern Caspian Sea Bypass on the North-South ITC does not only imply access to the Persian Gulf via Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran, but also integration of Russia's railroad network with the roads of Central Asian countries. On the Western Bypass - via Azerbaijan and Iran - the key project is the construction of the Resht-Astara railway section to ensure the transit of cargo between the regions of Northern Russia and the ports of the Indian Ocean.

As Marat Khusnullin points out, Russia does not confine itself to railroad transportation on the North-South transport corridor. "The second area is the development of waterways. We plan on maximizing the development of our water routes along the Volga River and provide connections with the ports of all countries around the Caspian Sea," he explained.

All the necessary modern infrastructure is also being built to support automobile routes on the North-South ITC. "Eventually we will have a road connecting China and Central Asia with Russia. The work to integrate the highways through Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with Afghanistan and Pakistan continues," the deputy prime minister added.

According to him, two other key areas are being worked on to ensure seamless logistics on transportation corridors - expanding the throughput capacity of border crossing points and introducing electronic seals. 

Vasily Osmakov, First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, reminded the forum participants that the logistics routes in Eurasia have seen a radical reorientation of transportation flows. The Russian government plans to introduce subsidies for the costs incurred by logistics operators that operate and will operate along international transport corridors. We are talking about four transportation corridors - to Latin America, Africa, the Northern Sea Route and the North-South ITC. "We will launch regular container services to strategic destinations. This will reduce costs, create sustainable traffic flows. Due to the redistribution of logistic directions, we intend to achieve a trade turnover of almost $162 billion with the supporting countries by 2030", - said Vasily Osmakov.
"The second key task within the export development program is to create 'points of industrial presence' along these routes," the First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade specified. - These will include industrial parks, trade and logistics centers, port infrastructure, warehouses".

Ahmed Sultan bin Sulayem, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer of DP World voiced the position of the largest market players at the forum. He noted that Russia offers the best, shortest and fastest way to connect the Far East with Europe. 

"We have seen the risks of interrupting cargo shipments - for example, when a cargo gets stuck in the Suez Canal for 40 hours. One of the solutions we are currently working on is the Northern Sea Route. For example, the route from Tokyo to London via the Suez Canal is 24 thousand kilometers and takes 40 days. Assuming all is well in the Red Sea. The Northern Sea Route is 13 thousand kilometers and 18-20 days. it is much faster and bears no risks," emphasized the top manager of DP World. 

According to Ahmed Sultan bin Sulayem, when developing alternative routes, logistics companies consider the North-South ITC using the railroad network of Iran and Russia as one of the most convenient ways to deliver cargo from Asia to Moscow. "The main rule is that everyone is concerned about the delivery time, regardless of the cost," he concluded. 

When evaluating the chances of building the railroad on the Resht-Astara stretch of Iran, Dmitry Zverev, State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, stated that the initial survey work is expected to be completed in June and that an executive contract would be signed. "We hope that construction work will start this year in parallel with the design in order to launch a through line in 2028," he added. - The tasks for 2024 have already been set. In order to work out the entire chain, from the ports of North-West Russia to Bandar Abbas and other ports of the Indian Ocean, we have signed a road map with Azerbaijan and must draft an intergovernmental agreement by the end of July.