The Rasht-Astara railway section will benefit the trade of many nations in the Central Asian region. (Photo: PL)

Moscow, May 17 (RHC) The governments of Russia and Iran signed on Wednesday an agreement to build the Rasht-Astara railway section, a ceremony attended by the presidents of both countries, Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi.

According to the Kremlin press service, Putin, who participated by videoconference, said that the railway section will allow a direct north-south connection, which will benefit the trade of many nations in the Central Asian region.

In his speech, Putin stressed that this was the beginning of a major project to create an international transport corridor, which will connect Russian ports in the Baltic and Arctic with Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

The agreement stipulates that Moscow and Tehran will jointly finance the design, construction, as well as supply of goods and services of the strategic railway line to be built on Iranian soil.

The Rasht-Astara section is 170 kilometers long and will serve to link the overland sections of the North-South international transport corridor, thereby increasing the economic efficiency of the route across the Caspian Sea.

The Rasht-Astara line is planned to be built to the border with Azerbaijan, and from there to the Azerbaijani port city of Astara; it will be built with efforts of Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan. (Source: PL)