India Says Running Part of Iran’s Chabahar Port
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Indian government announced that it has taken over the operations of a part of the strategic Chabahar port in southeastern Iran.
The takeover of operations was done during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting between Indian, Iranian and Afghanistan's officials on December 24, India's Shipping Ministry said in a statement.
"This step marks the beginning of a long journey. India has written a history with its engagement in Chabahar and is now leading the regional cooperation and joint efforts to support land-locked Afghanistan," it said, the Times of India reported on Tuesday.
In 2016, India entered into the trilateral treaty with Iran and Afghanistan to develop a new transportation corridor connecting the three countries and other Central Asian Countries, bypassing Pakistan.
Chabahar provides India with an easier land-sea route to Afghanistan. In November, India sent its first cargo of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar in what appeared to be a run dry of a multi-modal connectivity route. The cargo was shipped from India’s western port of Kandla, unloaded at Chabahar and eventually taken to Afghanistan’s Nimroz province by trucks.
A rail link between Chabahar and Zahedan and thereon to Afghanistan is a crucial part of India’s ambitious extra-regional connectivity ambitions over which Tehran, New Delhi and Kabul have signed a basic agreement.
