Turkmenistan got the opportunity to join the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC) agreement after Russia formally agreed to it. The corresponding order was signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, TASS reports.
"Accept the proposal of the Russian Ministry of Transport, agreed with the Russian Foreign Ministry and other interested executive authorities, on the expression by the Russian side of consent to Turkmenistan's accession to the Agreement on the North-South International Transport Corridor," the document says.
The Russian Foreign Ministry was also instructed to notify Iran of its consent to Turkmenistan's accession to the agreement.
Earlier, the authorities of Turkmenistan announced plans to become a participant in the project. Director General of the Transport and Communications Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Mammetkhan Chakiev reported that work in this direction is underway. It was also noted that due to its geographical location, Turkmenistan plays an important role in the development of global supply chains.
An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of a multimodal North-South transport corridor was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000. Later, the composition of the participants expanded to 14 states. The goal of the project is to attract the transit of cargo flows from India, Iran and the Persian Gulf countries through the Russian territory to Europe.
Compared to the sea route through the Suez Canal, the distance is more than halved, which reduces the time and cost of transportation. Now the project combines several different transport systems of individual states.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
July 12, 2023