Iran and Russia are mulling to form a shipping firm that could complement INSTC that connects India with Russia via Iran.

Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali recently stated that authorities in Tehran and Moscow are exploring the formation of a cooperative shipping firm as part of efforts to strengthen strategic cooperation.

Jalali stated this in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Friday as he pointed to efforts to strengthen Tehran-Moscow’s maritime fleet.

“There is a need to reinforce our ports; there is a need to strengthen the shipping fleet. Even to create a joint shipping company. I just had a conversation with First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Andrey Belousov. Iran’s Minister of Transport also discussed this topic with him. Our Russian counterparts welcomed the creation of a joint shipping company,” the Iranian diplomat stressed.

He stated that “countries need to develop ports and link them like railroads. The potential for freight shipping is huge there.”

Moscow and Tehran are collaborating on a number of fronts to promote bilateral commerce, hasten development of transport links including the International North-South Transit Corridor and its Caspian Sea component, and integrate their banking systems to make it easier to conduct financial operations. Recently, Iran-India-Russia held a high level meeting on smooth implementation of INSTC.

The move comes as Iran and Russia prepare to conclude a long-term strategic cooperation deal, which will open up several new areas for collaboration.

Trade exchanges between the two nations quadrupled in 2022. Russia became Iran’s biggest foreign investor during the Iranian calendar year that ended in March with investments totaling $2.76 billion.

Iran and India are also focusing on full optimization of the Chabahar Port that would also boost connectivity to Central Asia.