The Birth of the “Caspian Three”?

... summit; in the future, this route could become the Suez Canal’s direct competitor. The North-South project was first mentioned in September 2000, when Russia, Iran, and India signed an agreement on connecting St. Petersburg and Mumbai via a transcontinental transportation corridor. The RZD’s interest is clear, almost half of the land corridor passes through Russia’s territory, but Azerbaijan and Iran are also interested in cargo transit. The entire Astara – Qazvin route connecting Azerbaijan and Iran should be completed by 2019 , which will produce a full-scale transit route along the entire western coast of the Caspian Sea. Within the ...