Azerbaijani, Russian and Iranian officials participated in a joint event in Baku Azerbaijan on the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor. This was the first trilateral meeting. The parties agreed to cooperate on the assessment and study of the potential for the development of infrastructure and transport possibilities, in particular the Rasht-Astara railway project, running between the southern Iranian Port at Shahid Rajaee (part of the Bandar Abbas complex) on the Persian Gulf, north to the Rasht Port on the Caspian Sea, then connecting to Azerbaijan, thus providing full rail connectivity between the Gulf and Europe. The project is of strategic importance for Iran in order to connect the Indian subcontinent with northern Europe.