MOSCOW: The US-Israeli missile attack on Iran’s Bandar Anzali, a key transit hub on the INSTC connecting Mumbai to St Petersburg, is a major blow to India-Russia’s ambition to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030 through the vital corridor, experts said on Saturday.The 7,200 km long multi-modal International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) connects Mumbai to St. Petersburg via Iran, bypassing the Suez Canal, to boost trade between Asia and Europe. Local media reports said a joint Israeli-American strike destroyed the customs house and other structures in Bandar Anjali on the Caspian Sea coast on 18 March.“This route bypassing the Suez Canal was considered safe, but now due to the high risk due to Israeli-American attacks, insurance and freight rates will increase, which will have a negative impact on Russia and other CIS countries interested in using it,” said Renat Karamurzov, professor at the Institute of Asia and Africa Studies at Moscow State University.“This corridor is extremely important for our bilateral relations with India because it reduces the transit time from Moscow to Mumbai from 25-30 days to seven days,” Russian political analyst Sergei Stroukan said during a televised discussion. According to Russian Deputy PM, Vitaly Savelyev, more than 7.5 million tons of goods were to be transported via the Trans-Caspian route by the end of 2025. PTI
Anjali’s attack has dealt a blow to the $100 billion trade plan between India and Russia. & more related News Here
