Azerbaijan agrees to boost INSTC infra as Putin visits Baku

New Delhi: Russia and Azerbaijan have agreed to boost the Azerbaijan route of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a decision taken during Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s two-day visit to Baku this week which will enable Russia to increase volume of trade with India.

During a joint presser on Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said the implementation of INTSC project has been of exceptional importance for interstate relations as well as for joint efforts in leveraging regional transport corridors and routes.

“At the moment, we are actively modernising the railway segment of this corridor to increase its throughput capacity. We are considering the possibility of transporting up to 15 million tonnes of cargo per year, with the potential to increase this to 30 million tonnes,” Aliyev said.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan sent its first cargo to India via INSTC recently. The Azerbaijan route is the original route of the three INSTC routes for Indo-Russian trade via Iran, but Azerbaijan has been slow in boosting infrastructure. Since the Ukraine war, INSTC emerged as a key route for Indo-Russian trade and has contributed to the increase in bilateral trade. Armenia wants to join INSTC, making it the fourth route for trade between India, Russia, Eurasia and Europe. Putin highlighted the joint plans of Russia and Azerbaijan for implementation of the INSTC project, which, according to him, will allow the two nations to reach the shores of the Indian Ocean and utilise transport cooperation for mutual benefit and interest.