In an interview with TASS on Dec. 24, Pakistani Energy Minister Awais Leghari announced that Russia and Pakistan are ready to launch trial runs in March 2025 on a rail link to transport goods between Moscow and Islamabad. “By the end of March, we are planning the first train—the first cargo train to leave Russia for Pakistan,” he said.
Coverage in RT explained: “The rail link will bypass Afghanistan along the eastern branch of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), through the territory of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. The INSTC is a 7,200-km multi-mode transit system that connects ship, rail, and road routes for moving cargo between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe….
“A number of experts have previously pointed out that the North-South corridor could become a safe alternative to the Suez Canal to protect trade flows from geopolitical fallout. Existing transport infrastructure has been historically focused on the East-West connection, but new routes are gaining importance due to global shifts of world markets to China, Southeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf.”
This agreement has been in the works for several months, beginning with a meeting on the sidelines of the June 2024 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), when Pakistan and Russia signed a Memorandum of Understanding, according to a Dec. 5 report from Pakistan magazine Profit, which explains: “Russia will gain a direct route to export oil, natural gas, steel, and other industrial goods to Pakistan, while Pakistan will access Russian markets for textiles, food products, and agricultural goods, including rice, wheat, and cotton.”
Pakistan is not a member of the BRICS, but Russia has supported its application to join.
