BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 27. The International North-South Transport Corridor is an important project, which is under priority control of the Russian leadership, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the first meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on Caspian Cooperation, TurkicWorld reports.
"The project's implementation necessitates close collaboration with Caspian region governments and the alignment of interests. Only five member countries have exclusive competence in resolving concerns relating to this unique water environment, according to the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. Interaction with littoral states becomes an especially essential feature of work in this regard," Sergey Lavrov said.
The intergovernmental agreement on North-South transport corridor was signed between Russia, Iran and India on September 12, 2000. Azerbaijan joined the agreement in 2005.
A total of 13 countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Ukraine) have ratified the agreement.
