nCa Report
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, has hailed the upcoming International Conference of Governors of the Caspian Sea Littoral States as a pivotal move to bolster regional ties among the five nations bordering the world’s largest inland body of water.
The event, set to take place in the northern Iranian city of Rasht in Gilan Province on November 18 and 19, marks the first gathering of its kind and stems from a resolution passed at the Third Caspian Economic Forum held in Tehran in February 2024. It aims to transform high-level agreements into actionable projects, focusing on trade, investment, and infrastructure development.
Gharibabadi, who also serves as Iran’s Special Representative for Caspian Sea Affairs, emphasized the summit’s role in fostering economic, transit, and logistical cooperation. Participants will include governors from coastal provinces in Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan—totaling around nine to ten provinces and autonomous regions—alongside officials, economic activists, and private sector representatives.
Ambassadors and consul-generals from Iran in the four other littoral states, as well as their counterparts based in Tehran, are also expected to join specialized roundtables and discussions.
The agenda covers a broad spectrum of issues, including regional development, investment opportunities, transit and logistics enhancements—particularly the expansion of the North-South Corridor—and environmental concerns like fisheries and the preservation of the Caspian Sea ecosystem.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei highlighted the initiative’s origins in Iran’s proposal at the economic forum, noting that it has garnered full approval from all five countries and will be inaugurated by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni. First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref is slated to deliver the closing address.
This conference comes amid heightened collaboration in the Caspian region. Just last month, the navies of Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Saint Petersburg to enhance maritime security, with plans for joint naval exercises in the coming months to prevent external interference in the area.
Earlier in July, Iran and Russia conducted the CASAREX 2025 drills in the Caspian Sea, underscoring their commitment to regional stability.
Additionally, a special committee on Caspian affairs met in Tehran on November 3 to prepare for such engagements, while a rescue and relief exercise involving littoral states was hosted by Iran earlier this month.
The summit also aligns with broader infrastructure pushes, such as the recent inauguration of the Rasht-Caspian railway, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor, facilitating trade between Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
Looking ahead, Tehran is set to host the next Caspian Summit in August 2026, further cementing multilateral efforts in the region. Analysts see these developments as a counterbalance to external influences, with Iranian officials repeatedly stressing that Caspian security should remain in the hands of the littoral states. /// nCa, 12 November 2025