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India offers Chabahar Port for Afghan trade

The delegation led by JP Singh, the Joint Secretary of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the MEA, on November 4-5 visited Kabul, where they also met former President Hamid Karzai and a few senior ministers

An Indian delegation headed by a senior Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official met Afghanistan’s interim Defence Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob this week, offering the use of Chabahar Port in Iran to business groups in Afghanistan, while also holding discussions on extending more humanitarian assistance to Kabul.

The delegation led by JP Singh, the Joint Secretary of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the MEA, on November 4-5 visited Kabul, where they also met former President Hamid Karzai and a few senior ministers.

“During the visit, he (Singh) had several meetings with Afghan ministers, including the acting Defence minister. He also called on former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and the head of UN agencies there,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question during the weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Thursday.

“They had discussions on India’s humanitarian assistance, and how Chabahar Port can be utilised by the business community in Afghanistan for transactions and for export and import and any other thing that they would like to do,” he said.

“Providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan is an important part of our assistance programme and so far in the last few months, and few years, we have dispatched several shipments of humanitarian assistance. We have longstanding ties with the people of Afghanistan, and these ties will continue to guide our approach towards the country,” Jaiswal said.

India does not recognise the Taliban regime that has been ruling Afghanistan since 2021, but has been providing humanitarian aid, including wheat, medicines and medical supplies, to the Afghan people from time to time.

This was Singh’s first meeting with the Taliban’s acting defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the MEA said. Yaqoob is the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar.

Karzai said in a post on X on Wednesday that he and Singh had discussed the long-standing and historic ties between the two countries and emphasised on the need to strengthen bilateral relations “as much as possible”.

While appreciating India’s cooperation with the people of Afghanistan, Karzai said more attention should be paid to the education and training of the Afghan youth, developing trade, and easing travel between the two sides.

“They had discussions on India’s humanitarian assistance that we are providing to people in Afghanistan, as also how the Chabahar port can be utilised by the business community in Afghanistan for transactions and for export and import and any other thing that they would like to do for,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, said while addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi.

Jaiswal further said that in recent times, India has provided 50,000 metric tons of wheat, 40,000 litres of pesticide, 30 tons of medicine, and 28 tons of earthquake relief aid to Afghanistan.

The Chabahar Port is an India-Iran flagship project that serves as an important transit port for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, which are landlocked countries.

The spokesperson further said that providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan is vital for India’s assistance programme.

“I also want to recall here that providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan is an important part of our assistance program and so far in the last few months, and few years, we have dispatched several shipments of humanitarian assistance which includes 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat, 40,000 litres of Malathion pesticide, 30 tonnes of medicine and 28 tonnes of earthquake relief aid. We have longstanding ties with the people of Afghanistan, and these ties will continue to guide our approach towards the country.”

Notably, Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of National Defence Maulvi Muhammad Yaqoob held a discussion with an Indian delegation led by JP Singh.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence wrote, “Acting Minister of National Defense met and talked with the Indian delegation. Acting Minister of National Defense Maulvi Muhammad Yaqoob ‘Mujahid’ today met and talked with an Indian delegation led by JP Singh in his office.”

“In this meeting, both sides emphasised joint cooperation for the development of bilateral relations, especially humanitarian cooperation and other important issues, and expressed their interest in strengthening more interactions between Afghanistan and India,” it added.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan. The two reviewed bilateral relations and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in various fields.

During the meeting, Modi invited Masoud Pezeshkian to visit India at an early date. Iranian President Pezeshkian accepted the invitation, Prime Minister’s Office said in a release.

Modi congratulated Pezeshkian on his victory in the elections. He also welcomed Iran in the BRICS family. This was the first meeting between the two leaders since Masoud Pezeshkian took over as President of Iran in July this year.

In a press release, Prime Minister’s Office stated, “Noting that the signing of the long-term contract of Chabahar Port is an important milestone in bilateral relations, the two leaders reaffirmed its significance for reconstruction and redevelopment of Afghanistan and enhancing trade and economic linkages with Central Asia.”

The Chabahar Port is an India-Iran flagship project that serves as an important transit port for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, which are landlocked countries.

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India, Iran Give Renewed Push To New Trade Routes

The bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi laid special emphasis on strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields including trade and investment, connectivity, energy and counter-terrorism, a report by Ateet Sharma

India and Iran on Thursday agreed upon fast-tracking infrastructure cooperation, focusing especially on Chabahar project and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

The bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit on Thursday laid special emphasis on strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields including trade and investment, connectivity, energy and counter-terrorism.

PM Modi congratulated the Iranian leader on joining the BRICS family – Iran will become a full-member of the grouping starting January 2024 – while Raisi thanked Prime Minister for India’s support for backing its BRICS membership and also congratulated on the success of Chandrayaan mission.

In July, Iran – an observer state till now – also got a full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) under the rotating chairmanship of India.

Acknowledging India’s growth as an emerging power, Tehran had urged New Delhi to accelerate the process of Iran’s admission to the powerful five-member BRICS grouping that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Interestingly, just before their meeting in Johannesburg, Raisi dialled PM Modi last week discussing BRICS, the numerous cultural and civilisational commonalities that binds both nations and also realising the full potential of Chabahar Port as a connectivity hub.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian then held talks over phone with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar just before the BRICS Summit in South Africa.

In Johannesburg on Thursday, the Iranian President told PM Modi that both countries have “good capacities and grounds” for expanding cooperation in the fields of science, technology, space, energy and transit.

He also mentioned that strengthening cooperation in the field of North-South Corridor can be vital to the interests of both nations.

India has maintained that if the full potential of the strategic Chabahar port – being built with India’s help in Iran – is realised, then it can not only become the gateway for Indian trade with Europe, Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries but also turn into one of the most important ports in the world in the near future.

New Delhi has been spotlighting the importance of strengthening the transport and logistics architecture of the Eurasian region via the INSTC and its linking to Chabahar.

The two reviewed bilateral ties including in areas of trade & investment, energy, connectivity, and counter-terrorism.

The large-scale 7,200 km-long North-South multimodal trade corridor, which will start from Mumbai with nodes in West Asia, Central Asia, Caucasia and Russia, would eventually link the far-west Russian city of Saint Petersburg to the ports of Iran and India.

As India continues to ship humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan through the Shahid Behesti Terminal at the Chabahar Port, the two leaders on Thursday also exchanged views on the situation in the Taliban-ruled country.

“Had a wonderful meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi. I am glad that Iran will be joining BRICS. Discussed ways to deepen trade and cultural cooperation between India and Iran,” tweeted PM Modi after the meeting with Raisi.

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Chabahar: Redefining Geopolitics of Northern Indian Ocean

India takes one more step to develop Chabahar port.

The rise of China and Russia in northern Indian Ocean is reshaping regional geopolitics and holds strategic implications for India. In this context, the role of Chabahar port has assumed importance, writes Sankalp Gurjar

Three recent developments underscore the enduring geopolitical significance of the port of Chabahar. First, was the Chinese role in normalizing the Iran-Saudi Arabia relations. Second development was the trilateral naval exercises between China, Russia and Iran in the Gulf of Oman. Finally, India decided to send wheat to Afghanistan via the Chabahar route. Each of these developments indicate the changing geopolitics of the Northern Indian Ocean.

China brokered an agreement that will normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, two regional rivals who were engaged in intense politico-military-ideological competition. Days after the China-brokered deal, the naval forces of China, Russia and Iran have been engaged in maritime exercises in the Gulf of Oman. They carried out similar exercises in 2019 and in 2022. The signal is loud and clear: China is emerging as the next major player that will shape the geopolitics of West Asia and Northern Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, Russia has staged a comeback to West Asian geopolitics since 2015 and is stepping up military cooperation with Iran to an unprecedented level. Iranian drones have been used by Russia in Ukraine and Russia has agreed to supply Su-35, advanced fighter aircraft, to Iran. Russian naval presence in the Gulf of Oman for the trilateral naval exercises also points to the growing interest and steadily increasing presence of Moscow in the Indian Ocean geopolitics. The rise of China and Russia in the northern Indian Ocean is reshaping regional geopolitics and holds strategic implications for India. In this context, the role of Chabahar port has assumed importance.

The port of Chabahar is located outside the Persian Gulf and therefore, is relatively free from the turbulent geopolitics of the Gulf. However, the presence at Chabahar will be useful to monitor the strategic developments in the Persian Gulf as well as in the Gulf of Oman. Chabahar’s location along the Makran coast, near the port of Gwadar developed by China in Pakistan, is significant. Gwadar is long seen as the likely site of the second Chinese military base in the Indian Ocean. Therefore, India’s presence at Chabahar matters from the point of view of maritime as well as continental strategy. With the intensifying turbulence in Pakistan and the instability in Balochistan, the importance of Chabahar has gone up significantly.

In India’s calculations, Iran is a key strategic pivot to connect with Central Asia, Russia, and the wider Eurasia. As India seeks to operationalize the International North South Transport Corridor and engage with the Eurasian countries, a foothold at Chabahar will be beneficial. For India, the port of Chabahar and the inland connectivity options provide overland access to Afghanistan as well. It helps in neutralizing, albeit in a limited manner, the tyranny of geography along India’s western frontiers.

Few days before the China-brokered agreement was signed, India had held the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Afghanistan with five Central Asian countries. Signaling the two major problems afflicting Afghanistan, representatives of two UN agencies, dealing with drugs and food, UNODC and UNWFP, were also in attendance. At the working group meeting, India announced that it will send 20,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan via the port of Chabahar. This will be the second time that India will send food assistance to Afghanistan through the Chabahar route. India had sent food and medicines to Afghanistan in 2021 when the US-supported government was in power. Apart from the strategic imperative of engaging with Afghanistan, without taking any firm stand about the nature of the regime, the role of Chabahar will remain central to India’s outreach to Afghanistan. In the context of reports about the likely fissures between various Taliban factions, overland access to Southern Afghanistan via Chabahar adds another critical dimension to India’s Afghanistan policy.

The logic of geography and strategy make Chabahar an important node for India. It is a critical project for India’s strategy towards the Indian Ocean, Eurasia, and Afghanistan. The growing Chinese naval presence and the expanding strategic relationship between Tehran and Beijing underscores the need for India to stay engaged and perhaps even augment its presence at Chabahar.

(Sankalp Gurjar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Udupi, India. He is the author of The Superpowers’ Playground: Djibouti and Geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific in the 21st Century.)

(India Narrative)

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