Moscow, Nov 24 (AHN) Russia has planned to start transportation along the Russia-Iran-India and Russia-Iran-China routes within the North-South International Transport Corridor in 2026, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport Andrey Tarasenko was reported as saying by the local media on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, Tarasenko stated, "There are plans to launch transportation on the Russia-Iran-India and Russia-Iran-China routes, with the implementation planned in 2026," Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.

Tarasenko said that the management of MMTP JSC and the largest state-owned Iranian shipping company IRISL and its Caspian subsidiary, Khazar Sea Shipping Lines (KSSL) held negotiations in April. The companies had agreed to organise container shipping, particularly multimodal container shipping within the North-South International Transport Corridor.

Earlier this month, Russia and Iran reached agreements on establishing joint maritime consortium to develop transportation between Makhachkala and Iranian ports.

In September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China's Tianjin and stressed that SCO means Security, Connectivity and Opportunity. PM Modi stated that India firmly believes that strong connectivity ensures not just trade, but also trust and development.

In his opening remarks at the SCO Summit, he said, "I would now like to share my thoughts on the second pillar, 'C' – that is, Connectivity. India has always believed that strong connectivity does not merely facilitate trade but also opens the doors to trust and development. It is with this vision that we are working on initiatives such as the Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor."

"Through these, we can enhance our linkages with Afghanistan and Central Asia. We believe that every effort towards connectivity must uphold the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is also enshrined in the core principles of the SCO Charter. Connectivity, that by-passes sovereignty, ultimately loses both trust and meaning," he added.