Tag: Chabahar port

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‘India to unlock trade potential through Chabahar’

The Chabahar Port is a key pillar of India’s India-Pacific vision to connect Eurasia with the Indian Ocean Region…reports Asian Lite News

The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal affirmed India’s commitment to unlocking the trade potential with the Central Asian region through the use of Chabahar Port in Iran.

Minister Sonowal on Sunday inaugurated the Chahabar Day conference in Mumbai.

 Chabahar is located in south-eastern Iran at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman and is blessed with an ideal strategic location connecting the Indian subcontinent with both Afghanistan as well as Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Sonowal urged all the representatives and stakeholders to come forward with suggestions to reduce the transportation time and cost further to make a cheaper, shorter, faster, and more reliable route from India to Iran and Central Asia.

Dignitaries from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan were also present on the occasion.

The Chabahar Port is a key pillar of India’s India-Pacific vision to connect Eurasia with the Indian Ocean Region.

The port will also be part International North-South Transport Corridor network connecting India. INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) is India’s vision and initiative to reduce the time taken for EXIM shipments to reach Russia, Europe, and enter the central Asian markets.

Minister Sonowal further interacted with the high-level diplomatic delegation from central Asian countries in Mumbai.

On the occasion, Minister of State Shipping and Waterways Shreepad Naik said that India’s mutual interest in developing ties with Central Asia is boosting economic activities in this land-locked region.

“This infrastructure linkage will prosper the trade and bilateral relations between all these countries,” Naik said.

Deputy Head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) Jalil Eslami, during the event, said that Chahbahar port plays an important role in the economic development of India and Iran.

Eslami said that Iran has given special incentives to increase trade cooperation activities between India and Iran through the Chabahar port.

“We want to develop Chabahar port as a transit hub looking at its strategic location,” Eslami added. (ANI)

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India, Iran review progress on Chabahar Port

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian had paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month during his official visit to the country…reports Asian Lite News

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Tuesday spoke on phone with Iran’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Dr Ali Bagheri Kani and discussed various elements of bilateral relations including progress on the Chabahar Port.

The two sides also discussed international and regional issues including Afghanistan.

“The two sides discussed various elements of bilateral relations including progress on the Chabahar Port. Foreign Secretary underscored India’s commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Iran in addressing shared opportunities and challenges,” a Ministry of External Affairs release said.

External Ministry Affairs Minister Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet that the two sides discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral relations and reviewed progress on Chabahar Port.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian had paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month during his official visit to the country.

The Prime Minister had warmly recalled the long-standing civilizational and cultural links between India and Iran. The two leaders had discussed ongoing bilateral cooperation initiatives.

“Was happy to receive Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian for a useful discussion on further development of Centuries-old civilizational links between India and Iran. Our relations have mutually benefited both the countries and have promoted regional security and prosperity,” the Prime Minister tweeted after the meeting.

During the visit, Hossein Amir Abdollahian also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and both sides acknowledged the significance of bilateral cooperation in the field of regional connectivity.

They reviewed the progress made at the Shahid Beheshti terminal, Chabahar port.

India and Iran agreed that the Chabahar Port has provided much needed sea-access to landlocked Afghanistan and has also emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region, including for Central Asia.

They reaffirmed their commitment to continue to cooperate on the development of Chabahar Port and noted that the teams from both countries will be meeting soon to address operational aspects.

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India, Iran and Central Asia work to unlock Chabahar port

India had earlier this year said that it remains engaged on the modalities of the implementation of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line, as well as other developmental projects in Iran, reports Asian Lite News

India and Iran are stepping on the gas to develop Chabahar as the preferred port for channelling trade between landlocked Central Asia with South Asia and other parts of the world.

While India was pro-actively discussing removal of bottlenecks that come in the way of fully utilising Iran’s sole deep-water port, with foreign ministers of the five Central Asian countries in New Delhi over the weekend, Tehran was also internally brainstorming strategies to fully develop its major asset on the Indian Ocean coast.

In Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Economic Relations Coordination Council went into a huddle to discuss the big picture, as well as some details to develop Chabahar.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, Mehdi Safari revealed during the meeting that India is interested in purchasing Iranian condensate which can be bartered for Indian pharmaceutical raw materials, using the port. He also praised the growth of agricultural exports and said that reaching an agreement on export tariffs would take Iran’s trade ties with India to a new high.

The minister also stressed the importance of establishing the Zahedan-Chabahar railway line.

India had earlier this year said that it remains engaged on the modalities of the implementation of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line, as well as other developmental projects in Iran.

It was during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016 that a MoU was signed between IRCON International Limited of India and the Construction, Development of Transport and Infrastructure Company (CDTIC) of Iran for the construction of the railway project.

The line, a joint collaboration between the governments of India and Iran, will provide faster connectivity from the Chabahar port to Afghanistan and further to Central Asia. It will also bolster the existing connectivity by road from the Chabahar port to Afghanistan.

Safari said that Iran is also considering “exporting engineering services” projects, especially to India, as a basis for creating more job opportunities.

India will be sending a high-level delegation to Chabahar early next year following an invite from the government of Iran.

The decision was taken during the second Trilateral Working Group meeting between India, Iran and Uzbekistan on the joint use of Chabahar Port which was held virtually last Tuesday.

It takes forward New Delhi’s efforts on having an inter-connected Eurasia through the development of Chabahar port and also enhancing connectivity with the landlocked region via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

On Sunday, during the India-Central Asia Dialogue, the foreign ministers had welcomed the proposal to include Chabahar Port within the framework of INSTC.

India has also welcomed the interest of Central Asian countries to utilise the services of Shahid Beheshti Terminal at Chabahar Port for facilitating their trade with India and beyond.

“Met Uzbekistan FM Abdulaziz Kamilov for the sixth time this year. Trilateral discussions with Iran on Chabahar are noteworthy. Our development partnership can make a difference in urban infrastructure,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had tweeted.

Analysts point out that India is keen on a Chabahar deal with Iran, before sanctions are lifted on Iran following the signing of a new nuclear agreement between Tehran and the west. Once a new settlement is signed, it will be difficult for India to sign a preferential contract with a sanctions-free Iran.

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