Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr President Raisi! Dear friends!
I cordially welcome all of you to the ceremony of signing the Russian-Iranian agreement, which launches the implementation of a truly large-scale project to create the North-South international transport corridor.
We talked a lot about the importance of building this through transport artery, which is designed to connect Russian ports in the Baltic and the northern seas with Iranian ports on the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Let me remind you that a fundamental decision on the joint work of Russia and Iran in this direction was made during the summit talks in Tehran in July 2022.
Today, we are witnessing that this idea - which, indeed, has already 20-year roots, maybe - but this idea has finally begun to be implemented. A railway line with a length of 162 kilometers will be laid between the Iranian cities of Rasht and Astara. It would seem that this is a small section, but its commissioning will allow establishing a direct and uninterrupted, or, in other words, experts say, seamless railway communication along the entire length of the North-South route.
The fact that we are successfully cooperating within the framework of such a large project reflects the high level, fruitful, mutually beneficial nature of Russian-Iranian relations. Both in Russia and in Iran, the strengthening of trade, economic and other bilateral ties is truly of paramount importance. These ties are built on the principles of good neighborliness, respect and consideration of each other's interests.