A senior Iranian government official says the country may tap more funding from Russia and India for transport projects that could facilitate international cargo transit through the Iranian territory.
Davoud Danesh Jafari, who chairs Iran’s newly-launched Transportation Development Fund, said on Saturday that Russian and Indian financing can be used for key railway projects in north and southeastern Iran.
“It is possible to tap foreign resources of other partners like Russia and India for joint financing of these projects,” said Danesh Jafari.
The comments came after the official paid a visit to Moscow earlier this week to sign a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russia-based regional entities to boost cargo transit through the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC).
The INSTC connects ports in southern Iran to major trade hubs located to the north of Iran via three main routes.
Danesh Jafari said Iran will seek to attract more investment from domestic and international investors to finish the construction of missing rail links on the INSTC, including a key railway project that connects the northern metropolis of Rasht to Astara on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan.
That comes as Russia has already pledged financial support for a number of transport projects in Iran while India has also provided limited funding and equipment for a port development project in southeastern Iranian region of Chabahar.
It also comes after a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Iran in mid-January to monitor progress of works on Rasht-Astara railway, a project to which Russia has committed funds.