In separate meetings with Aide to Russia's President Igor Yevgenyevich Levitin and Deputy Transport Minister of Russia Zverev Dmitry Stanislavovich, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for the Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari, who is in Moscow to take part in the first meeting of the representatives of the BRICS nations in 2023, held talks on the bilateral ties and issues of the mutual interest.
The two sides exchanged views on the implementation of the contract for constructing the Rasht-Astara Railway, which was inked by the transport ministers of the two countries in Tehran in May 2023.
Safari pointed to the special emphasis of the presidents of the two countries on accelerating the construction operation of the railway and stressed the settlement of the remaining issues in line with signing the executive contract of the agreement.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister promised that the country will make its utmost efforts to settle the problems facing ahead as soon as possible.
The Russian officials, for their part, referred to the expert-level talks held with their Iranian counterparts and called for the removal of the existing obstacles.
The meeting was also attended by Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.
Iran and Russia signed an agreement worth $1.6 billion to build the Rasht-Astara railway, a project in northern Iran that will be key to cargo transit through the INSTC.
The contract was signed in April 2023 in Tehran between Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and Russia’s Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was present in the ceremony where the contract was signed while Russian President Vladimir Putin attended via a video conference link.