India, Iran foreign ministers discuss progress of Chabahar port development
This story was originally published at 20:49 IST on 3 January 2025
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NEW DELHI – External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday held talks with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi in New Delhi and discussed progress in the development of Chabahar port in Iran and bilateral ties. The Iranian foreign minister was on a visit to India for the 19th round of India-Iran political consultations held in New Delhi on Thursday and Friday.
"Discussed our bilateral ties, progress in Chabahar port and regional developments. Confident that the Foreign Office Consultations will give momentum to our partnership," Jaishankar said on X, formerly Twitter. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the ministry will share details on the outcome of the talks.
The Indian government, in May last year, signed a 10-year lease agreement with its Iranian counterpart to develop and operate the Chabahar Port of Iran. Shipping and Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had said that the Chabahar Port will offer an alternate route to India for trade with Iran, Afghanistan, Eurasia, and Central Asian Republics. The Chabahar Port is an important component of the International North–South Transport Corridor initiated by India, Russia, and Iran, in 2000. It is a multi-modal network of ship, road, and rail that connects St. Petersburg to Mumbai through the Chabahar Port and the Bandar Abbas Port through the Caspian Sea.
However, US sanctions and logistical obstacles, such as Iran's delay in completing two railway lines--Chabahar-Zahedan and Rasht-Astara--which are necessary for moving cargo from port and connecting to planned International North-South Transport Corridor are major impediments to boost trade.
In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha regarding the status of the port, Jaishankar had said in November that India supplied port equipment worth about $24 million to develop the Chabahar Port. "The process for procurement of remaining port equipment for Chabahar Port is underway. The grant assistance for the supply of equipment has been enhanced to $120 million. India has also committed to provide a Line of Credit of $250 million for the infrastructure development of Chabahar Port. Since 2018, the port has handled over 450 vessels, 1,34,082 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent) of containerised cargo and more than 8.7 million tons of bulk and general cargo, he said.
According to reports, at the 19th round of India-Iran Political Consultations, the Iranian minister was seeking to resume energy trade with India, which stopped in 2019 due to the sanctions by the US. Other items on the agenda included increasing bilateral trade, the reports said.
The bilateral trade between India-Iran plummeted after India stopped purchases of Iranian oil in 2019 due to US sanctions. Bilateral trade fell from a high of $17 billion in 2018-19 to $1.85 billion in 2023-24. End
US$1 = INR 85.77
Reported by Kuldeep Singh
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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