Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Oct. 26, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said that Tehran was committed to building a transit corridor to facilitate trade between Central Asia and Southeast Asia. “Iran is a territory of logistics and transit opportunities, and in this regard, we are ready to create a transit corridor for the SCO member countries,” he said at the conference, which was held in an expanded format.
“Iran has already taken important steps as part of the North-South corridor, after the completion of which trade and economic exchange between the countries of Southeast Asia and the states of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia, the Black Sea coast and Europe will be simplified.”
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which extends from St. Petersburg in Russia to Mumbai, India, via the Caspian Sea and Iran would also be an important element in President Putin’s plans for building several North-South transportation corridors to increase Russian trade with the countries of Asia.
