India, Iran, Armenia Hold Trilateral Talks on INSTC in Tehran

The third round of trilateral consultations between India, Iran, and Armenia was held in Tehran, Iran, on September 9, 2025, for extensive discussions on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace project.

• The third round of trilateral consultations between India, Iran, and Armenia was held in Tehran, Iran, on September 9, 2025. During the meeting, the three sides emphasized fulfilling the set goals to safeguard mutual interests and promote prosperity and well-being in the region.
• This was the third meeting in this trilateral format; earlier, meetings had been held in Yerevan in April 2023 and in New Delhi in December 2024. The next round of consultations will be held in Armenia next year.

Purpose of the meeting

• The meeting emphasized expanding and deepening cooperation in the areas of connectivity, including the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace project.
• Both sides also reviewed the initiatives undertaken to develop relations in economic, trade, and other areas of mutual interest.
• After India-Iran bilateral talks, there will be India-Iran-Armenia trilateral talks, which have been developed in recent years to enhance connectivity between India and Armenia through Iran.

First transport through the North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)

• Recently, Russia has, for the first time, sent two coal-laden trains to India through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). This consignment will travel more than 7,200 kilometers from St. Petersburg, Russia, through Iran’s Bandar Abbas port to Mumbai port.

About INSTC

• INSTC is a 7,200-kilometer-long multimode transit route that connects the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf through Iran to the Caspian Sea and then to Northern Europe through St. Petersburg, Russia.
• It connects shipping, rail, and road routes for the purpose of transporting goods between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.
• Origin:It was launched on September 12, 2000, under a trilateral agreement signed by Iran, Russia, and India at the Euro-Asian Transport Conference in St. Petersburg in 2000 to promote transport cooperation among member countries.
• Ratification:- At present, 10 more countries (a total of 13) have joined the membership of INSTC, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Syria, Belarus, and Oman.
• Route and Mode:- Central Corridor: It starts from Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and connects Bandar Abbas Port (Iran) at the Strait of Hormuz. Thereafter, it passes through Nowshahr, Amirabad, and Bandar-e-Anzali in the Iranian region and extends through the Caspian Sea to Olya and Astrakhan ports in Russia.
• Western Corridor: It connects the railway network of Azerbaijan with Iran from the cross-border nodal points of Astara (Azerbaijan) and Astara (Iran) and further connects to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in India through a maritime route.
• Eastern Corridor: It connects Russia with India through Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.