Russia Expands North-South Transport Corridor Toward Gulf States
Russia is promoting the expansion of the North-South corridor toward Qatar and Saudi Arabia, following signed memoranda with Iran and other nations. The initiative aims to connect Moscow to the Gulf, India, and non-Western markets.
Russia is promoting an initiative to expand the North-South international transport corridor toward the Gulf states, specifically Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The Russian Ministry of Transport told the RIA Novosti agency today that Moscow is preparing documents for signing with Doha, Riyadh, and other countries as part of an effort to expand the network of trade routes connecting Russia to Iran, the Gulf, and India.
According to the Ministry of Transport, Russia has already signed memoranda of understanding with Iran, Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Oman.
"Preparation of similar documents is underway with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and several other countries," the ministry stated.
It was further noted that countries in the Gulf and Southeast Asia are showing interest in connecting their port capabilities to the corridor. In parallel, Moscow is examining routes toward Pakistan as well as transit through Afghanistan, in combination with the trans-Afghan railway project.
This report confirms and expands upon previous statements by Russian Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin. As early as April, Nikitin said that Russia was discussing memoranda with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, India, Pakistan, and other countries, and in June he reiterated this in an interview with the TASS agency. Thus, it appears that in recent months the move has shifted from the stage of examining partners to the practical preparation of documents for signing.
The North-South corridor is a multimodal transport route approximately 7,200 kilometers long, designed to connect Saint Petersburg to the port of Mumbai in India via railways, roads, and sea routes. The corridor has three main routes: a trans-Caspian route and two land routes, western and eastern.
A key component of the plan is the completion of the Rasht-Astara railway in Iran, which is supposed to close a significant gap in the western route. Russia and Iran signed an agreement in 2023 to complete the section, at an estimated cost of 1.6 billion euros, with most of the funding expected to come from Russia.
For Moscow, expanding the corridor to the Gulf states could deepen trade ties with non-Western markets and connect Arab ports to a logistics network passing through Iran and Russia. The move also has significance against the backdrop of Russia's attempt to expand alternatives to traditional trade routes toward Europe and to establish more direct transport links with the Gulf, South Asia, and India. However, according to Russian reports, the agreements with Qatar and Saudi Arabia are still in preparation, and a date for their signing has not yet been announced.
