Valdai Club

The Valdai Club's Third Russia-Iran Dialogue discussed not only politics and the actual state of bilateral relations but also the specifics of trade and economic cooperation. Both countries have a stake in climbing to a qualitatively new level of relations that implies joint modernization. This event is a major expert forum discussing the agenda of the trilateral Russia-Iran-Azerbaijan summit scheduled for mid-August in Sochi.

Transport routes are like rivers, where water always fi nds a way to continue its fl ow. It is not a coincidence that transport routes are often referred to as arteries. But what comes first – a riverbed or the water, the fi rst representing the strategic will of states and the second the contents, i.e. goods resulting from the balance of interests between businesses and consumers? Global trade routes such as the North–South Project can be viewed as social and economic phenomena largely shaped by the political will of the countries that promote these trade corridors based on their understanding of common interests.