Iran, Armenia to sign deal to construct part of North-South Corridor

The contract for constructing a part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in southern Armenia will be signed on October 23, during a visit by Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash to Yerevan.

Iran’s roads minister has left Tehran for the Armenian capital, at the official invitation of Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

In this daylong visit, Bazrpash will participate in the signing ceremony of the contract for constructing Agarak-Karajan Road as a part of the INSTC and the Persian Gulf- Black Sea Transport Corridor.

Accompanied by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for the Economic Diplomacy Affairs Mehdi Safari, Iran’s roads minister will hold high-profile talks with Armenian transport officials aimed at developing bilateral relations in the fields of trade, economy, and transportation.

In addition, the two sides will exchange views on a host of issues including issuance of licenses for Iranian airline companies, removal of road tariffs, promotion of cooperation within the framework of INSTC and Persian Gulf – Black Sea Corridor, development of rail transportation and use of logistics and port capacities of Iran.  

Bazrpash will also hold talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The INSTC is a multimodal network spanning 7,200 kilometres of ship, rail, and road routes. It is designed to provide the shortest multi-modal transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian and Baltic Seas.

The INSTC currently unites multiple transport systems across various countries, with Russia and Iran being the two countries contributing the most to the infrastructure development projects, accounting for 34.6 per cent and 33.7 per cent of total planned investments, respectively.