Chabahar: India's agreement to operate Iran's Shaheed Beheshti port for 10 years

  

Chabahar: India's agreement to operate Iran's Shaheed Beheshti port for 10 years

India has signed a 10-year deal to operate the Shaheed Behishti port in Iran's coastal city of Chabahar, which will modernize the movement of goods at the port's container terminal.

Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazarpash and Indian Shipping Minister Sarbanda Sonowal signed the agreement in Tehran, Iran.

Some observers believe that India is developing a section of the Chabahar port on Iran's southeast coast to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan and send its merchandise to Iran, Central Asian countries and Afghanistan through Chabahar. Exporting.

According to Mehrdad Bazarpash, India and Russia were presented the 'Map of the Iran Road Project' during the tripartite meeting in Tehran last year.

He said that through the Chabahar project and Iran's road rail network, India can access Afghanistan and Central Asia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Syria from Chabahar.

Along with this, Bazarpash also announced the establishment of a joint shipping company between India and Iran.

Sarbanda Sonowal posted pictures of the agreement on X, calling it a "historic moment" for the two countries' relations and the region.

He wrote that "this agreement will not only strengthen the relationship between the two countries, but it is also very important for India to gain a foothold in the global supply chain and maritime sector."

They consider the deal as part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trade plans to create an alternative trade route to Iran, Afghanistan, Eurasia and Central Asian countries.

According to Iranian media reports, to modernize the Chabahar port, India will "invest over $120 million in the supply of strategic equipment as well as over $250 million in its transportation infrastructure."

Shahid Behishti Port was built as the second most important port in Chabahar in 1983 due to the need for a port outside the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War.

Mehrdad Bazarpash also described this agreement as "very important for increasing business relations between the two countries".

He said that the agreement signed today is proof that Chabahar will become the center of Iran's development and the operation of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway section (which will be completed by the end of this year). will increase in value.

Earlier, India's foreign minister had said that India wants to enter into a 'long-term agreement' with Iran regarding the management of Chabahar port.

S. "As soon as a long-term agreement is reached, the way will be opened for major investment in Chabahar port," Jaishankar told reporters in Mumbai.

Indian Ambassador to Iran Rudra Gaurav Shrest also met the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development and CEO of Iran Ports and Maritime Organization yesterday and during his visit to Chabahar Port, he said that India is committed to the development of Chabahar. Sticks to his promises.

He said that the establishment of "modern equipment" in Chabahar would soon begin a "new chapter of cooperation between New Delhi and Tehran".

Although US sanctions have slowed down the process, some of these restrictions have been lifted on 'humanitarian grounds' in recent years.

An overview of the contract history

In 2014, despite warnings from a senior US official, India and Iran signed a new memorandum to develop the Chabahar port.

In 2016, Iran, India and Afghanistan signed the Chabahar Tripartite Agreement, under which Afghanistan and India can trade through the port.

In November 2018, some products exported from Chabahar port were exempted from US sanctions, including the export of petroleum products from Iran to Afghanistan. At that time, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that this decision was made to keep the communication channel open for the development of Afghanistan and for sending humanitarian aid from Iran.

In February 2019, for the first time, trucks carrying export goods from Afghanistan to India left for Chabahar.

In February 2024, a delegation of the Taliban government visited Chabahar port, and after that, Iran's special representative for Afghan affairs, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, announced that the Taliban government was going to invest $35 million in the port.