Oman, Tajikistan Keen On Multi-modal Route To Europe

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New Delhi, Aug 15: : Oman and Tajikistan have expressed interest in signing the North-South corridor agreement connecting India to Europe via Iran and Russia. Iran, India and Russia are signatories to the agreement along with Kazakhstan and Belarus.

India had already supported the candidature of Oman and Tajikistan, said an external affairs ministry official.

The working group of Iran-Russia joint commission met last week in Tehran to examine mutual cooperation on the North-South corridor. The two countries exchanged views on various issues such as construction of container terminals in Iranian and Russian ports and investment in the Caspian Sea shipping industry. Synchronizing customs duties and taxation of Iranian and Russian shipping lines at the Caspian ports were also discussed at the meeting.

Both sides called for boosting the infrastructural facilities of both states in various transportation fields such as port, loading platforms, railways and inland roads. Turning to expansion of trade ties via the Caspian Sea routes as contributing to further understanding among the five Caspian littoral states, they discussed ways of increasing exchange of goods along the route, said an official.

The North-South corridor starts from the Mumbai port and extends right up to Moscow via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Badar Anzali in Iran.

The railroad-cum- shipping corridor will cut short the transit time by about one-third of the time it takes to carry cargo through the present route via the Suez Canal.

This new multi-modal route which uses Iran as the transit link is expected to reduce operational costs by about 20 per cent.

India mainly exports granite, pharmaceuticals, tea, coffee, rice and tobacco from Indian ports of Kochi, Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Till Bandar Abbas in Iran they can be carried on ships and from there on till the other end of Iran at Bandar Anzali or Bandar Amirabad the consignments will have to be carried by road.