The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) has been working with a higher volume of trade among India and Russia through Iran in recent months amid the West’s sanctions on Moscow following the Ukraine war.
As per reports, between May and July, Iran Shipping Lines has successfully transported some 3,000 tonnes of goods and 114 containers along the INSTC.
INSTC-a 7,200-km-long network of highways, sea, and rail routes offers the shortest connectivity route between Russia and India. As per experts, the route has reduced the carriage cost between the two nations by about 30%.
Currently, most of the commodities that are transported through Iran along this route are shipments between Russia and India, sources said.
Iran Shipping Lines had framed a functional working group for the improvement of transportation along the INSTC in early April, and the organization has allocated 300 vessels to the transportation of products through this passageway, as per individuals familiar with the matter.
India and Russia have pitched for the ideal utilization of the INSTC to increase bilateral trade, along with the trade between India and Eurasia. The Indian government has pushed to incorporate INSTC with the Chabahar Port, which has assisted expansion.
INSTC along with the extension of trade will contribute to further infrastructure development, including the making of new border checkpoints, cargo consolidation terminals, and closer interaction between customs and other regulators of various stakeholder states of the corridor.
Earlier in July, Russian President Vladimir Putin while addressing the 6th Caspian Sea Summit described the INSTC as the key connectivity link between India and Russia through Iran.
Describing the route as, a “transport artery from St Petersburg to ports in Iran and India”, he said, the corridor aims to connect Caspian Sea region countries, including Kazakhstan.
Shipping goods between Russia and India through the INSTC takes under 25 days, down from almost 40 days through the conventional courses.
Other than decreasing time, the INSTC is likely to be viewed as a suitable choice for Indo-Russian trade amid the developing geo-political difficulties.
Over the long haul, the INSTC would be an alternate option to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea — which is overwhelmed by certain countries – and the Bosporus Strait, as per sources, who didn’t wish to be named. It will also give an option in contrast to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the region.
The BRI projects in the Eurasian area associate Europe with China through the Central Asian countries and Russia and give Beijing admittance to assets of Eurasia. Beijing has plans to interface with Turkey and Iran using the BRI. In the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) documents, India has held itself immune from endorsing BRI.
The Chinese project, according to India, violates sovereignty as it goes through PoK. Moreover, BRI has been pushing nations towards mega debt.
The INSTC joins the Indian Ocean to the Caspian Sea through the Persian Gulf onwards into Russia and Northern Europe and offers the shortest course between them.
There are likewise plans to connect the northern course through the Russian Arctic with INSTC for transportation of merchandise.
The underpinning of the north-south vehicle hallway was laid on September 12, 2000, as per an intergovernmental understanding endorsed between Russia, Iran, and India. Azerbaijan joined this arrangement in 2005. This arrangement was endorsed by 13 nations (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Ukraine). The task has various parts: Northern and Western Europe.
