Port deal sealed, PM calls it a milestone

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 23

The strategically important Chabahar port deal was among 11 agreements that India signed with Iran today.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi,  while in Iran on a two-day visit, called the Chabahar agreement as a ‘key milestone’. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also reached Tehran today to participate in the discussions.

“The agreement will strengthen our ability to stand against those whose only motto is to maim and kill innocents,” said the PM in a veiled reference to Pakistan.  He said the port would provide Afghanistan with an ‘effective and a more friendly route to trade with the rest of the world’. 

The Chabahar port is of great strategic significance to India as it would open a transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia for Indian goods and products, bypassing Pakistan. 

For Pakistan and also for China, this is bad news, to put it mildly. The port would  provide Kabul an alternative to the city of Karachi. And for China, its dominance in the region is likely to be checked. Also, the port will bring India, Iran and Afghanistan closer to one another. “India and Iran also share a crucial stake in peace, stability and prosperity of the region. We have shared concerns at the spread of forces of instability, radicalism and terror in our region. We have agreed to consult closely and regularly on combating threats of terrorism, radicalism, drug trafficking and cyber crime. 

“We have also agreed to enhance interaction between our defence and security institutions on regional and maritime security,” the PM said in a statement. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, "Chabahar can become a big symbol of cooperation between Iran and India.” Also, a trilateral agreement on transport and transit corridor was signed by India, Afghanistan and Iran, which Modi said could "alter the course of history of the region

Since the lifting of the sanctions, Iran has played host to a number of nations that are eager to engage with it. India maintained its relations with Iran during the sanctions era, despite pressure from the US, and never stopped importing oil from Iran.     

The Iranian media reporting on Modi’s visit was upbeat about the developments. The E'temad newspaper said Modi's visit and the signing of agreements on joint projects, energy and connectivity " will ring danger bells in Islamabad, China and Riyadh."  India will help develop the Chabahar port and invest around $200 million to develop terminals and cargo berths. A 500-km rail line between Chabahar and Zahedan will also be built with Indian collaboration. Before the visit, India had cleared part of its $6.4 billion oil dues to Iran.