India And Iran Strengthening Ties By Opening Chabahar Port
India And Iran Strengthening Ties By Opening Chabahar Port: India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019, the government said, despite a threat of renewed US sanctions against Tehran.
The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan that could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut its dependence on Pakistan, its sometimes-hostile neighbour.
The port would offer easy accessibility to CIS countries, Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said in the statement.
India, Iran and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement in 2016 to jointly develop the Chabahar Port, opening a new strategic transit route between the three nations and other Central Asian countries, bypassing Pakistan.
But the recent withdrawal of US from the Iran nuclear deal and its decision to re-impose sanctions on the Gulf nation has put a question mark over the target to complete the project.
Besides the port, India has other strategic interests in Iran including the International North South Transport Corridor that will link India with Central Asia and Europe. It is also the biggest customer of Iranian oil after China.
Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping said in Dushanbe yesterday, that India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019. Shri Gadkari was addressing the Indian Community at the inauguration of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre at the Indian Embassy in Dushanbe. He said the opening up of the Chabahar Port would make the CIS countries more accessible.
The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan that could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut its dependence on Pakistan, its sometimes-hostile neighbour.
US President Donald Trump´s decision to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear deal and penalize financial institutions for doing business with Tehran is clouding Chabahar’s viability.
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