Russia is working jointly with foreign partners to build railway lines from Central Siberia towards the south of the country, towards China, Mongolia and the ports of the Indian and Pacific oceans, the President of the Russian Federation said.

These statements were made during the President’s speech at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on 18 October.

According to the head of state, an International North–South Transport Corridor is also being constructed in the European part of the country. It will connect Russian ports on the Baltic and Arctic seas to ports in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Another north-south transport artery will run via the Urals region and Siberia.

Its main elements are the modernisation of the central part of the Trans-Siberian Railway, including the West-Siberian Railway line running across several regions of Siberia, Putin added.

In addition, the President announced the construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway. It will lead to the ports on the Arctic Ocean and the Yamal Peninsula. The President also mentioned plans to create a new North Siberian Railway.

Another corridor from the Arctic to the south of Russia will be created in the Far East. According to Putin, its elements are being prepared. They include a railway line running from the Baikal-Amur Mainline to Yakutia, across the large Siberian rivers Lena and Amur, the Pacific Railway Line, the modernisation of motorways, and the creation of deepwater terminals in the eastern part of the Northern Sea Route.

These north-south transport corridors in European Russia, Siberia and the Far East will allow us to directly connect the Northern Sea Route and to integrate it into major logistics hubs in the south of our continent on the Indian and Pacific oceans, the President stated.

Putin also noted that Russia and China, like most countries in the world, share the striving for equal cooperation while respecting the right of every state to its own development model.

On top of that, the President invited interested countries to participate in the development of the NSR.

As for the Northern Sea Route, Russia offered its partners the opportunity to actively use its transit potential. More than that, we are inviting all interested countries to get directly involved in its development, and we are ready to provide reliable icebreaker escort, communications and supplies, Putin said at the opening of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is being held in Beijing on 17-18 October, ten years after the initiative was launched.

The editorial board of The Arctic Century

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