Ashgabat Agreement
Topic: World Transport and Communication · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Ashgabat Agreement is a transit deal signed in 2011. It sets up a transport corridor, a planned route of railways, roads and sea links, between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. It helps landlocked Central Asian countries, which have no coastline, reach the sea. It also gives Gulf ports a way into Central Asia. India joined in 2018 so that its trade could reach Central Asia without passing through Pakistan.
Example
The corridor connects with the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and with Chabahar port on Iran's south-east coast. In 2024 India signed a 10-year contract to run Chabahar's Shahid Beheshti terminal. US sanctions on Iran put this terminal at risk (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC): INSTC is an India-Iran-Russia corridor from 2000 that runs north to Moscow and St Petersburg. The Ashgabat corridor links Central Asia with the Persian Gulf, and the two routes join each other.
Related concepts
- Belt and Road Initiative
- China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
- Gwadar port
- Hambantota port
- String of pearls
- International North-South Transport Corridor
- India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
- Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor
- Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project
- BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement