Welcome progress on India-Iran-Russia corridor
With India, Iran and Russia, along with 11 other countries approving the draft transit and customs agreement for the International North-South Transport Corridor, work in earnest appears to have commenced on India's Connect Central Asia policy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to all five Central Asian countries underlined his Government's heightened strategic and economic focus on the region. Indeed, the INSTC is of a piece with Mr Modi's oft-articulated vision of enhanced economic interdependence in the immediate and extended neighbourhood through developmental partnership sustained by a “vast network of physical and digital connectivity”.
In principle, the latest thrust to the INSTC must be welcomed for unveiling the immense potential of the Corridor as a multi-modal transport route for seamless movement of goods and people from Mumbai (India) to Bandar Abbas (Iran) by sea, from Bandar Abbas to Bandar-e-Anzali (an Iranian port) by road, and from Bandar-e-Anzali to Astrakhan (a Russian port) by ship across the Caspian Sea, and thereafter from Astrakhan to other regions of the Russian Federation, further into Europe through rail. Initiated by India, Iran and Russia in September 2000, the INSTC, an ambitious project to link the land-locked Central Asia and South Asia, seeks to provide a safe and secure passage of goods and people across borders through a harmonised transport policy that addresses the legal and legislative concerns of participating countries. The Corridor will neutralise the expensive and time-consuming access currently available to India through China, Europe or Iran.
A meet of stakeholders from 15 countries held in Mumbai this June to assess the optimal cost benefits of this Corridor highlighted the degree of enthusiasm and realistic economic expectations attending the project. With a section of the Asian Highway linking India and Thailand via Myanmar made operational this Wednesday, it is only a matter of time before India acquires unfettered access on the East-West Corridor. A simultaneous mobility on the North-South Corridor will, therefore, go a long way in establishing a comprehensive network of connectivity spanning Asia. For India, the added advantage of this connectivity with multilateral participation is that it bypasses an undependable Pakistan which has held the India-Iran gas pipeline to hostage in perpetuity.
However, the legitimate optimism surrounding the INSTC must be served a note of caution. There is little clarity yet on the logistical problems attending such seamless access routes — issues related to customs procedure, documentation, border crossing rules, finances of various infrastructure projects and, above all, the continuing lack of political stability in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Admittedly, the onus of stability on the Corridor eventually rests on the three major players in this project — India, Iran and Russia. While the draft agreement has set the ball rolling in the right direction the three can ill-afford to ignore the possible derailments that may emanate from the smaller stakeholders in the region.