Bloomberg: Russia and Iran will invest billions of dollars in a new trade corridor

Russia and Iran are building a new transcontinental trade route from eastern Europe to the Indian Ocean, 3,000 kilometers long, transmits Bloomberg, citing its own data.

Russia, within the framework of this initiative, seeks to establish a year-round water communication between the Azov and Caspian Seas, expanding existing shipping channels, and Iran to expand the railway network to the port of Chabahar on the coast of the Gulf of Oman.

“Countries are spending billions of dollars to speed up the delivery of goods along rivers and railways connected by the Caspian Sea. Vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows that dozens of Russian and Iranian vessels, including those subject to sanctions, are already plying this route.

The emerging trade corridor would allow Russia and Iran to shorten existing routes by thousands of kilometers. Maria Shagina, an expert on sanctions and Russian foreign policy at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, estimates that Russia and Iran are investing up to $25 billion in a domestic trade corridor, helping to ease the flow of goods the West wants to stop.

“This is an area that we are keeping a close eye on, both this route and the Iranian-Russian communication in general,” said Biden administration senior sanctions official James O’Brien.

In the fall, Russia and Iran also signed several agreements in the agricultural sector as part of a meeting of the Russian-Iranian commission on trade and economic cooperation, which were reported to be of great importance for increasing the volume of trade and its diversification.