Armenia Works on Creating Rapid Transit Route Involving Iran and India

Armenia is working on the establishment of an international multimodal rapid transit route with the involvement of Iran and India. Furthermore, a roadmap for the implementation of a seamless corridor has already been developed. This was reported to Sputnik Armenia by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia.

The route in question is parallel to the "North-South" international transport corridor. The idea of a continuous route was first voiced by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during his visit to India. In particular, he announced the possibility of opening a commercial corridor through Armenia that would shorten the path of Indian goods to Russia and European countries via the Black Sea. At that time, Yerevan and New Delhi began negotiations on signing a bilateral agreement on international road transport.

Work on this project began in May when, at the instruction of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, an inter-agency working group was formed to address the operation of international freight transportation and the opening of an operational point at Chabahar port.

The working group is engaged in the development and organization of a multimodal rapid transit route for international freight transport and the creation of a corridor (India, Iran, Armenia, Georgia-RF/EU). This is intended to serve as an alternative to the "North-South" international transport corridor.

In response to a written inquiry from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, it was clarified that the second meeting of the working group took place on July 19 (it is chaired by Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan). At this stage, the specialists of the group have developed a roadmap for the realization of the project, and these developments have been presented to the relevant agencies. For the implementation of this ambitious project, Yerevan is working with New Delhi towards signing an agreement on international road transport.

"The agreement is in the development phase. Its signing and implementation will allow for the regulation of the processes of land passenger transport and freight transportation between Armenia and India," the response stated.

Additionally, the implementation of the project will promote the development of mutually beneficial economic ties, facilitate interaction among business circles, expand cooperation in the transportation sector, and simplify the multimodal freight transport process.

It is worth noting that communications between Armenia and India are currently not well-developed. In order to implement this ambitious project and launch a seamless corridor from India to Europe, Yerevan needs to resolve infrastructural issues and complete the construction of its section of the "North-South" road project sooner than the planned eight years.