Embassy of India

Baku, Azerbaijan

Embassy of India

Baku (Azerbaijan)

PRESS RELEASE

Monday, 1^st May 2018

India-Azerbaijan Friendship INSTC Motor Car Rally

India is organising a major rally of motor cars from India to Iran, Azerbaijan and then to Russia during May 2018 to Russia to popularise the  International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route. The rally will consist of 20 Indian Rally Cars of the Kalinga Motor Sports Club (KMSC) of India which have reached Bandar Abbas on 28 April from India by sea route. These cars driven by drivers from all the four countries - India, Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia will drive through Iran on the North- South Corridor to reach Astara border of Azerbaijan on 4 May.

In Azerbaijan, the INSTC Motor Rally will be flagged off from Lankaran on 5^th May and will travel to Baku using the North- South corridor. The rally team will stay in Baku on 5-6 May during which they will visit the major sites, particularly, Ateshgah, which used to be an important transit point on ancient North-South route connecting India to Europe. The Rally will be flagged off at Baku on 7^th May, 2018 by the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation from Heydar Aliyev Center for travelling to Saint Petersburg. The rally has the support of the Government of Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation. 

During its return journey from Saint Petersburg the rally will again pass through Azerbaijan from 25 to 27 May 2018. The rally will also visit the Chabahar port in Iran, which is a new port being jointly developed by India and Iran. The rally would cover over 10,000 kilometers in its travels in Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.

The INSTC Motor Car Rally would highlight the ongoing development of the infrastructure of International North-South Transport Corridor by the partners countries, namely India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia and others. This route would  address the problem of lack of direct transportation link between India and the Eurasian region. This new route has proved to be much shorter, faster and cheaper than the existing shipping route. It is estimated that the INSTC route from Mumbai to Moscow via Baku through Bandar Abbas or Chabahar ports in Iran would be cheaper and 40 percent shorter than the current sea route. Azerbaijan enjoys a key location as a hub of the INSTC as well as East-West Transport Corridor via Caspian Sea and Baku-Tbilisi- Kars Railway.  The development of the INSTC infrastructure would be very beneficial for the whole region by enhancing the business potential, and generating new trade and investment opportunities.

The itinerary of the car rally is as under:

Onward journey (India-Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia):

Return journey (Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran-India):

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