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Iranian Company Buys Majority Share at Russian Port of Astrakhan (Caspian Sea)

SalarHaqq

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Since last year, a majority share (53%) of the port of Salyanka in the city of Astrakhan, northern shores of the Caspian Sea has been owned by an Iranian company, Nasim Bahr Kish, after the Russian Federation agreed to this major but not very well known investment. A great step in the expansion of bilateral ties, and a rare Iranian investment outside the global south, focused on an infrastructural facility of actual strategic value (not a football club or such).

Also in 2021, Sardar Baqeri paid a memorable visit to Astrakhan. In a dedicated classroom where Farsi is taught at the local naval academy (incidentally the establishment's largest classroom), the wall above the black board is adorned by portraits of... Imam Khomeini (r.A.a.) and Hazrate Aqa Khamenei (h.A.)! Whilst national historical figures of Iran are portrayed elsewhere in the class.




An Iranian investor to buy the Astrakhan Port​


10.02.2016

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has named a potential buyer for PJSC Astrakhan Port whose foreign shareholders entered in an amicable agreement with the FAS in late January requiring them to sell their shares within six months, as reported by Kommersant Newspaper.

According to published data citing the FAS's Head of Foreign Investments Control Department Armen Khanyan, Iranian Khazar Sea Shipping Lines and South Way Shipping Agency as well as Azores Shipping Company LL FZE (UAE) may sell 53.7% of voting shares in the Port to Nasim Bahr Kish, an Iranian company.

The government commission pre-approved the transaction associated with the purchase of shares in the Port by Iranian Nasim Bahr Kish as early as on 11 December 2015.

In 2010–2011, Iranian Khazar Sea Shipping Lines, South Shipping Agency, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and Azoress Shipping Company (UAE) acquired a controlling stake in the Port without obtaining the approval of the Government Commission for Foreign Investments. The FAS filed a claim with a commercial court in 2012. In July 2014, the court invalidated the deal but its award was appealed against in a cassation court.

PJSC Astrakhan Port transships rolled metal products, coke and grain for import operations as well as cement, polypropylene and food products for export operations. The largest share of transshipment operations is attributable to Iran. PJSC Astrakhan Port's cargo turnover in January to November 2015 totaled 740 thousand tonnes with all Astrakhan-based ports' cargo turnover giving a total of 2.87 million tonnes at last year end.​

http://www.rusexporter.com/news/detail/3907/




2022 June 14 09:05

Iran kicks off pilot transit via North-South Corridor​


The first pilot transit will reach the destination in Indian Nhava Sheva port in less than 25 days

Chairman of the Russian-Iranian port of Solyanka in the Astrakhan economic zone Daryoush Jamali told IRNA on Saturday, adding that such multi-sided transits were carried out occasionally and partially, but efforts made by the shipping team bore fruit to make it possible to create a pilot mechanism in order to transit containers from Russia to India or the Far East while using merely one bill of lading for the whole transit route, which is exactly the real objective of the International North-South Transport Corridor, IRNA reports.

Pointing to advantages of the initiative, Jamali said that decrease of transport costs such as tolls for ports and customs offices, reduction of the period that containers should wait, acceleration of delivery of commodities, removal of dangers in transferring empty or full containers, issuance of valid documents for legal issues and compensation of potential losses, acceleration of banking operation, and increase of commercial credit are guaranteed in this initiative.

The first multi-sided transit consists of two containers carrying wood laminate weighing 41 tons, he said, adding that the pilot shipment was sent from Saint Petersburg in Russia and moved to Astrakhan Port to enter Iran via the Caspian Sea.

The transit operation is being conducted in cooperation between Iran’s shipping representative office in the International Transport & Shipping Ltd. (ITS) and logistical companies of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines in India, he noted.

As expected, the first pilot transit will reach the destination in Indian Nhava Sheva port in less than 25 days, the official added.

Given agreements reached in this regard, it is expected that the large bulk of cargo will be transited from Russia and Belarus to India via Astrakhan Port, which will grow foreign transits in the International North-South Transport Corridor, and help Russia, India, and Iran to make more money.

Solyanka Port was classified as the first among 15 ports on the Volga River and the region of Olia as well as the Republic of Dagestan in 2020.

More than 53% of the shares of the Solyanka Port belong to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Russia owns the rest of the shares.

https://en.portnews.ru/news/330660/


Russia’s Astrakhan Region, Iran to form joint shipping co​

07/07/2022

The government of Russia’s Astrakhan Region and Iran’s Mostazafan Foundation have signed an agreement to establish a shipping company to develop the North-South international transport corridor, the deputy chairman of the regional government, Denis Afanasyev said.

“The leadership of the Mostazafan Foundation, one of the largest Iranian funds, which includes, among other things, shipping companies, visited us. An agreement was signed on the creation of a joint shipping company,” Afanasyev said Wednesday at a Federation Council meeting on the development of international transport corridors.

He said the Astrakhan port is seeing a significant increase in cargo traffic, which is expected to grow by a third by the end of August.

Belarus has confirmed its willingness to ship some cargo through Astrakhan ports, Afanasyev said.

“Approval is underway with the Transport Ministry of Russia on the volumes [that will go] specifically in the direction of Astrakhan. We’re talking about at least 1 million tonnes from Belarus in the near future. We can double the figure for this route if we have an understanding regarding discounts for railway transit,” Afanasyev said.

He said Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin plans to hold negotiations on discounts with the management of Russian Railways (RZD).

Source: Interfax

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/russias-astrakhan-region-iran-to-form-joint-shipping-co/



Warning: USA "think tank" source

The Rise of Multimodal Transportation Among Russia, Iran and India​

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 19 Issue: 105

By: Vali Kaleji

July 13, 2022 06:21 PM Age: 2 months

Astrakhan-Port-640x383.jpg

Astrakhan Port (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

As the Ukraine war has entered its fifth month, and two decades after Iran, Russia and India signed the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in 2002, Dariush Jamali, head of the Iranian-Russian Port of Solyanka in Astrakhan Oblast, announced that the first transit shipment from Russia to India had been sent through Iran by way of the INSTC (Mehr News Agency, June 11). This shipment passed on a multimodal route through Astrakhan Port, specifically the Solyanka part (Russia); Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports (Iran); and Nhava Sheva Port (India).

In this process, the Solyanka section’s role is critical, which was classified as the first among 15 ports on the Volga River and in the Republic of Dagestan in 2020 (Portnews.ru, June 14). Since a decade ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines has bought 53 percent of Solyanka shares in Astrakhan. Solyanka is important because the main part of Iranian sea trade is in the Caspian Sea with the Port of Astrakhan; a smaller portion of this trade is also dedicated to Makhachkala Port.

Iran’s attention to Astrakhan Port is not new and, in the past decade, has not been limited to the purchase of 53 percent of Solyanka shares. Iran has a consulate general and a branch of Mir Business Bank in Astrakhan, which, along with the Moscow and Kazan branches, is crucial in facilitating banking and financial transfers between Iran and Russia. Likewise, the Iran Trade Center was inaugurated in Astrakhan on October 25, 2017. This 200-year-old center had been closed after the Russian Revolution of 1917 (Ana.press, October 25, 2017). Additionally, in recent years, various Iranian companies have invested in the Lotus special economic zone (SEZ) in Astrakhan.

Therefore, given the conditions of the Ukraine war, Astrakhan Port and Solyanka have become two of the most important transit links between Iran and Russia. In fact, this route should be considered in the context of the INSTC, which has three routes running from Russia to Iran, through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus. Since restrictions have been placed on passages from Russia to Europe in response to the war, Moscow’s attention to all three transit routes has increased significantly.

In Central Asia, the road and rail routes connect Russia to Iran through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In the South Caucasus, due to the severance of relations between Russia and Georgia, the road route from Russia to Azerbaijan through the Baku-Astara highway is the most consequential passage from Russia to Iran. Although the linked railway networks of Russia and Azerbaijan still lack a physical connection with Iran, at present, the only remaining gap is a 164-kilometer railroad section from Rasht to Astara. Until this segment is finished, freight moving by train must be transferred to trucks and then back again (see EDM, May 16). Due to Russia’s strong need for the north-south corridor, new agreements have been made between Iran and Russia to complete the Rasht-Astara section and Tehran has sought to attract Russian investment for the project (Shargh, April 30).

Since no direct rail connection exists between Iran and the Caucasus, the Astara-Baku-Dagestan land route is considered the main transit route from Iran to Russia, which has experienced increased traffic in recent months. This condition is one important reason for Iran and Russia to expand the transit capacity of the sea route through the Caspian Sea. In fact, the passage through Astrakhan, Solyanka and Makhachkala ports to Iranian ports makes it possible to re-route portions of the Caucasus traffic through the Caspian Sea.

Among Iran’s several ports on the Caspian Sea, the two ports of Amirabad and Anzali are central to the rapid transfer of containers from Solyanka and Astrakhan to the southern ports of Iran, including Bandar Abbas. In the meantime, Chabahar Port, as Iran’s only port in the Gulf of Oman, is critical for communication among India, Iran and Russia within the framework of the north-south corridor (see EDM, April 18). In this regard, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Lotus SEZ, Anzali Free Zone Organization in the Caspian Sea and Chabahar Free Trade–Industrial Zone in the Gulf of Oman (Cfzo.ir, June 19, 2019). Currently, a 634-kilometer railroad section between Chabahar and Zahedan in southeastern Iran is the only remaining gap that prevents direct rail connections from Chabahar Port to Anzali Port. The head of Iran’s Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company has said the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project will be completed by the end of Iranian calendar year 1402, which corresponds to March 20, 2024 (Tehran Times, March 4).

Furthermore, India’s motives for participating in the INSTC are also important. India is one of the founding members of the project and signed a historic three-country deal to develop the strategic Chabahar Port as a crucial node in a “transit and transport corridor” through Afghanistan on May 24, 2016 (see EDM, September 28, 2021). Indeed, India has continued to engage with Iran on the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project since a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran in 2016 (Financial Express, February 4, 2021). The completion of this project will give India the possibility to connect to Mashhad and Sarakhs in northeast Iran as well as Central Asia through Chabahar Port and to reach Anzali Port in northern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea.

This multimodal transportation corridor will also provide India with the opportunity to connect Nhava Sheva Port, the second-largest container port in the country, with Chabahar Port in the Gulf of Oman, Anzali Port on the Caspian Sea’s southern coast and Astrakhan and Solyanka ports on the northern part of the Caspian Sea that borders Russia. It is vital to keep in mind that the main trade route between Russia and India is the sea route through the Suez Canal. Therefore, establishing reliable links in the aforementioned passages would cut India’s time and cost for transporting goods in half.

Ultimately, the war in Ukraine and Russia’s transit restrictions with Europe have caused a great deal of movement in the INSTC. Under these circumstances, Moscow is striving to make the most of the combined transportation routes through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus and to develop trade with other economic partners, such as China, Iran, Turkey, and India, in hopes of reducing the negative consequences of Western sanctions on the Russian economy.

https://jamestown.org/program/the-rise-of-multimodal-transportation-among-russia-iran-and-india/



Video at link below.

Maj. Gen. Bagehri visits Russian city of Astrakhan


Thursday, 21 October 2021 11:58 [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 October 2021 13:49 ]

Astrakhan (IP) - The Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran visited the infrastructure of the port of Salianka in Astrakhan, Russia.

Iran Press / Europe: The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major-General Mohammad Bagheri on Thursday, October 21, 2021, visited the facilities and infrastructure of the Port of Salianka on the Russian Volga Riverbank.

Major General Bagheri, who arrived in Astrakhan after intensive talks and consultations with high-ranking Russian defense officials in Moscow and St. Petersburg, accompanied by Astrakhan government officials and members of his delegation, visited the infrastructure of the port of Salianka and he was briefed about the process of exporting and importing across the Caspian Sea.

The port of Astrakhan was the third destination of the visit of Iran's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces in Russia.

The port of Astrakhan is located in the north of the Caspian Sea, on the banks of the Volga River, and is one of the most important ports for the export and import of goods between Iran and Russia.

The Islamic Republic of Iran owns 53% of the port of Salianka, and from now on this strategic port is to play a more active role in trade and commerce by sea between Iran and Russia.




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Look like the big bro of EuroAsians is gathering the friendly neighbors to reduce consequences of western imposed wars and sanctions. Guess what, Germans are going to freeze in winter and no one is going to help them.

Russia has to strengthen Hezbollah's military wing inorder to avoid possible occupation of natural resources of Mediterranean by Israelis which can reduce the pain of European vassals of USA. Europeans have to taste their own Medicine of sanctions.
 

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