Iran and Russia have signed an agreement on the financing and construction of an Iranian railway line as part of the nascent North-South international transport project.
This is reported by Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi watched the signing of the agreement on video communication.
The Rasht-Astara railway is considered as an important link in the corridor intended to connect India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and other countries by rail and sea. According to Russia, this route could allegedly compete with the Suez Canal as a major global trade route.
"The unique North-South transport artery, of which the Rest-Astara railway will be a part, will help significantly diversify global transport flows," Putin said.
He also said that a 162 km railway along the Caspian Sea coast would help connect Russian ports on the Baltic Sea with Iranian ports in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.
"Without a doubt, this agreement is an important and strategic step in the direction of cooperation between Tehran and Moscow," Raisi said.
Russia and Iran have been forced to strengthen their political and economic ties due to Western economic sanctions against each.
Since the establishment of the dictatorship in 1979, Iran has been ostracized by the West and its economy has suffered from many sanctions. The West also imposed other restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
As a reminder, 12% of all global supplies pass through the Suez Canal. Russia's share in world trade is about 1%, Iran's share is even smaller.