Top Section
Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
Chabahar Port
India and five central Asian countries on Tuesday asserted that Afghanistan's soil must not be used for any terrorist activities and called for formation of a "truly inclusive" political structure in Kabul that respects rights of all Afghans including women and minorities. At the first meeting of the India-Central Asia joint working group on Afghanistan, New Delhi also announced a fresh tranche of assistance of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan and the consignments will be sent through the Chabahar Port in Iran. The situation in the war-ravaged country came up for extensive deliberations at the first meeting of the India-Central Asia joint working group on Afghanistan that took place in Delhi. A joint statement said the meeting emphasized the importance of formation of a "truly inclusive and representative political structure" that respects the rights of all Afghans and ensures equal rights of women, girls and members of minority groups, including access to education. In
India and Iran agreed on Thursday on continued cooperation for the development of the Shahid Behesti terminal of the Chabahar port. The issue came up for discussion during the Foreign Office Consultations between an Iranian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and an Indian delegation led by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra. "During the delegation-level talks, both sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic, cultural and consular engagement," according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The statement said the two sides reiterated their commitment to continuing the cooperation for the development of the Shahid Behesti terminal of the Chabahar port. The two delegations led by Kani and Kwatra also exchanged views on regional and international issues, including Afghanistan. Kani also briefed the foreign secretary on issues related to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for the first time in-person on the sidelines of the SCO summit here and the two leaders discussed wide-ranging bilateral ties, reviewed the progress in the development of Chabahar Port and regional developments including Afghanistan. The two leaders are in this historic Uzbek city of Samarkand to attend the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit SCO summit. "Productive first meeting between PM @narendramodi and President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran. Discussed our wide-ranging bilateral relations and reviewed the progress in the development of Chabahar Port. Also discussed international and regional developments including Afghanistan," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. Iran has been a key country for India in the Gulf region. The two sides have been jointly focusing on improving connectivity between South East Asia and Central Asia. India has been projecting Iran's .
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday visited the Shahid Behestti port at Chabahar in Iran to review the progress in the development of the port, an official statement said. The statement further said that in an effort to invigorate the potential of Chabahar port, Sonowal also handed over six mobile harbour cranes to Indian Ports Global Chabahar Free Trade Zone (IPGCFTZ) at the port. According to the statement, Sonowal said that India remains committed to developing and popularising Chabahar Port in Iran. He was accompanied by India's Ambassador to Iran, Gaddam Dharmendra and Ali Akbar Safaee, deputy minister and Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organisation, Iran. "Sonowal and Safaee had a fruitful meeting on development of maritime and port cooperation between Iran and India. Both the delegation discussed the possibilities of trade and unlock trade potential between Central Asian countries with South Asian, ASEAN and even from Far E
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday left for Iran on a four-day visit during which he will assess the progress of the first phase of the Chabahar port and interact with senior functionaries of the Central Asian countries and explore business opportunities. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties. "During my visit to Iran, I will assess the progress of the Chabahar port and look for business opportunities between South Asia and Central Asia," Sonowal told PTI before leaving for Tehran. The minister said he will hold discussions with Iranian government functionaries, meet stakeholders of the Chabahar port and attend business-to-business (B2B) meetings to explore trade potential. Sonowal's visit to Iran came a fortnight after India hosted an event on 'Chabahar Day' to promote 'Chabahar - Link to INSTC - Connecti
The US sanctions on Iran have not affected India's Chabahar port project, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Lok Sabha on Friday. Replying to a question from BSP member Ritesh Pandey, the minister also clarified that US sanctions are "not relevant" to India's Chabahar port project in Iran "at all". During the Question Hour, Pandey sought to know from the government if US sanctions on Iran had any bearing on India's project at the Chabahar port, and claimed that the Iranian government is "publicly saying that our Chabahar port project has been miserably delayed" due to sanctions imposed by the US". The BSP member also claimed he is "aware" that China is trying to work on the project by taking advantage of US sanctions on Iran as it did "with the rail link", and asked the government if it is working on a "solution". "I would like to inform the member that (his) assertion is completely inaccurate. This agreement was signed in 2016. We took possession of the terminal in 2018.