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Hashemi made the comment at a panel discussion sponsored by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industries titled ‘The harmonized Volga and Caspian Space for Development’ in Moscow, adding: The Islamic Republic with its 15 neighboring countries has a unique geopolitical status with access to sea and land territories to entire region.
He reiterated that this dual access, as well as the Iranian mainland’s access to free waters has turned the country into the transit hub of the region and thus having the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in the south has high potentials for transiting goods at ease, and there are good and sufficient proof for this claim.
The deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament said that Russia, too, with its strategic potentials, including the God-given natural energy resources has managed to strengthen its related industries and trade and acquire a significant global status.
“Lots of natural resources, good infrastructure for usage of natural energies, fertile lands, sufficient water and noticeable agricultural activities that enable the country to harvest crops both in the spring and in the summer, especially in production of cereals that is twice the national consumption of them and enables the country to export the excess amount to counties that need them, have all turned the country into a strong strategic power,” reiterated Hashemi.
Significance of North South corridor
The Iranian parliamentarian said that the North South corridor is entirely along the nature’s path and has a combination of transportation capacities and is not only the shortest transportation route to the European region at one end that is for instance 7,200 kilometer shorter from Mumbai Port, decreasing the 16,000 path in half, and is in addition a safer and more appropriate path with lots of land sideways in Iran to country’s various neighbors.
The head of Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group referred to the past couple of days’ closure of the Suez Canal, as a cause for better understanding of the significance of the north couth corridor.
“The closure of the man-made Suez Canal, through which 12% of the world trade takes place according to estimates inflicted a weekly 10-billion-dollar loss to the goods’ owners and the only possible alternative path for that is the Cape of Good Hope in the south of the African continent, which adds an average fortnight to the voyage length,” he said.
Hashemi said that the great significance of the North South corridor, with its combination transportation capacity is well comprehended here as a guarantee to cover such huge losses, and the Iranian and Russian governments should be well aware and prepared for emergency operations at times of need.
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