Tehran is ready to sign a long-term contract with India: Iran
New Delhi: For the development and financial stability of the country, the Iran government is expecting to develop good trade and other relations with the New Delhi government. The Tehran government said that it is ready to sign a long-term contract with India on developing the Chabahar port to realize its true potential in the coming years.
Rostam Qasemi – Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran, expressed Tehran’s intention during his meeting with visiting India’s Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal in Tehran earlier this week.
Qasemi described India as an “important and big country” that can play an essential role in the transit of goods in the region. He also hoped that the relations between the two countries regarding investment in Chabahar port will materialize.
If the full potential of the Chabahar is realized, said Sonowal, then it can not only become the gateway for Indian trade with Europe, Russia, and CIS countries but also turn into one of the most important ports in the world soon.
During his three-day visit, Sonowal also visited Chabahar and met Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber. The top Iranian politician mentioned that the commercial exchange and transit of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in the region will increase significantly due to Chabahar.
India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), took over the operations of the Chabahar port on December 24, 2018. Since then, the Shahid Beheshti port has handled more than 4.8 million tons of bulk cargo and continues to act as a catalyst to unlock the huge trade potential in the region by handling shipments and trans-shipments from various countries, including Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Ukraine, Oman, Romania, Bangladesh, Australia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, and the UAE.
India has also supplied six Mobile Habour Cranes (two with 140-tonne and four having 100-tonne capacity) and other equipment worth $25 million. The port has also provided much-needed sea access to landlocked Afghanistan with India supplying 75,000 tonnes of wheat to Kabul as part of the humanitarian assistance program, three years ago.
(Vinayak)
