NEW DELHI – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is in India on anofficial visit, is expected to meet with Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi to discuss bilateral issues and the ongoing development of Chabaharport.
According to The Times of India, Rouhani and Modi will discuss a range ofissues including trade, crude oil and connectivity – particularly with thenew port.
Rouhani, who is on a three-day visit to India, will also discuss the issueof oil with Indian officials. India is the second-biggest importer ofIranian crude oil.
On Friday, Rouhani said “Iran is rich in oil and natural gas resources. Itis ready to share its natural resources with India for its development andprogress.”
The strategically important port of Chabahar meanwhile will be a key itemon their agenda.
Under an agreement, India will invest $85 million USD for equippingChabahar port in south-east Iran. Rouhani on Friday stressed the importanceof the deep-water port and said it will open up a transit route for Indiato Iran, Afghanistan (bypassing Pakistan), Central Asian countries and alsoEurope.
The port will in turn offer an alternate to Karachi port in Pakistan forAfghanistan – which will be able to export products not only to centralAsia but to the US, Europe and Africa, Afghan officials said.
IRNA quoted the Afghan Director General of transit and trade facilitationfor the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as saying this week that Kabulhas decided to export its products through Chabahar Port.
Sayed Yahya Akhlaqi said on the sidelines of the 9th meeting of the RoadCommittee of Transit Transport Coordination Council (TTCC) of EconomicCooperation Organization (ECO) in Islamabad this week that Chabahar Porthas good facilities and provides cheaper and easy transit for land-lockedAfghanistan.
“This port gives us the access not only to Indian market but Arabiancountries also,” the official added.
“We have decided that from the next Iranian year (March 21) Afghanistanwill start exporting fresh and dry fruits to other countries throughChabahar Port,” added Akhlaqi.
He said that initially Afghanistan will send its products from NimruzProvince to Chabahar Port and will also solve problems if occurred in thetransit trade route.
He told IRNA that Afghanistan has decreased its exports fromKarachi-Torkham and Karachi-Chaman routes of Pakistan due to ongoingproblems.
But Akhlaqi was hopeful that with the increase in the capacity of ChabaharPort, new avenues of cooperation will open among the regional states.
Rouhani inaugurated the first phase of Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar, inDecember last year.
India is central to this port project as it remains keen on opening a traderoute to Afghanistan and Central Asia, as part of an agreement signedbetween India and Iran in May 2016.
According to Indian media reports, India will equip and operate two berthsin Chabahar Port Phase-I with a capital investment of $85 million USD andan annual revenue expenditure of $23 million on a 10-year lease.
This will establish a Transit and Transport Corridor among the threecountries – India, Iran and Afghanistan – using Chabahar Port as one of theregional hubs for sea transportation in Iran.
The port is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2018, with NewDelhi committed to developing a free trade area around the port, andfinally completing the loop with a $1.6 billion USD railway line to Zahedan.
In October, India sent its first shipment of 15,000 tons of wheat toAfghanistan through Chabahar; the shipment arrived in Zaranj on November 11.