Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are interested in promoting the eastern segment of the International North-South Transport Corridor.

As reported by the Press Service of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, this was announced following a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers Mammetkhan Chakyev.

Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers Mammetkhan Chakyev

The meeting also discussed the nuances of the construction of the Turgundi-Herat railway and the possibility of activating cargo deliveries to China via Turgundi.

The parties noted their mutual work to create competitive tariff conditions along all joint corridors China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran and along the North-South route, where the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan agreed to create a single logistics operator on the eastern branch for seamless cargo transportation.

The two countries are actively cooperating in developing the eastern segment of the corridor, which passes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, facilitating the transit of goods to Pakistan and further to India.

Recall that in July 2024, a roadmap was signed between Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran and Turkmenistan for the synchronous development of the North-South corridor. It was also decided to use the western branch of the Trans-Afghan Railway.

The International North-South Transport Corridor is a 7,200 km multimodal route connecting St. Petersburg with the ports of Iran and India. It offers an alternative to the sea route linking Europe with the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

The western and eastern branches of the corridor cross Iran: the western branch uses road transport via Rasht, and the eastern one uses rail. The final destination in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas, from which goods can be sent to India by sea. The western branch also passes through Azerbaijan, while the eastern branch passes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.