BISHKEK (TCA) — Iran and India have vowed to step up cooperation to restore peace and stability in Afghanistan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement after talks with visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New Delhi on February 17, RFE/RL reported.
Modi said the two countries aimed to improve energy security and regional transport links to reach landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia by developing Iran’s Chabahar Port as well as road and rail routes.
Rouhani’s three-day visit to India, which ended on February 17, was aimed at boosting business relations.
India is helping Iran develop Chabahar Port on the Gulf of Oman for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan, which has refused to provide New Delhi access through a land route.
India committed up to $500 million for the development of Chabahar.
Modi and Rouhani oversaw the signing of the agreement which would lease the operational control of Shahid Beheshti port — phase one of Chabahar port — to India for 18 months, PressTV reported.
Rouhani emphasized that Chabahar could reinforce Iran and India’s historical ties by serving as a bridge connecting the subcontinent to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.
“We are ready to sign bilateral and trilateral agreements to turn the transit route passing through Chabahar into a strategic pathway serving the reinforcement of regional ties,” he said.
Tehran plans to use Chabahar for transshipment to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Chabahar provides India with an easier land-sea route to Afghanistan. Last November, India sent its first cargo of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar. The cargo was shipped from India’s western port of Kandla, was unloaded at Chabahar and eventually taken to Afghanistan’s Nimroz province by trucks.
