During a three-day visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to New Delhi from 15 to 17 February, the two leaders of Iran and India had substantive talks on their bilateral relations and key regional issues. Both leaders emphasized boosting cooperation in trade and investment, energy, connectivity, defense and security.
On Saturday, the two sides sealed nine agreements, including a lease contract which would allow an Indian company, India Ports Global Limited, to take over operational control of facilities at Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar for 18 months.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (left) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo: Twitter)
This agreement is the follow-up of the Trilateral Transit Agreement (Chabahar Agreement) which was signed by the transport ministers of India, Iran and Afghanistan in the presence of Modi, Rouhani and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in 2016.
This port project will open up the transit route for India to access not only Iran and Afghanistan but also central Asian countries, bypassing Pakistan. The port is likely to promote trade among India, Afghanistan and Iran.
Transit route from Mumbai, India to Chabahar Port, Iran and Kabul, Afghanistan (Photo: Twitter)
India and Iran have robust economic and commercial ties covering many sectors though they have traditionally been dominated by the import of Iranian crude oil by India.
Iran's abundant hydrocarbon resources and India's rapidly growing energy demand provide new opportunities for both economies, expanding the two countries’ bilateral trade.
According to the Indian external affairs ministry, India-Iran bilateral trade during the fiscal year 2016-17 was $12.9 billion. India imported $10.5 billion worth of goods, mainly crude oil, and exported commodities worth $2.4 billion.
To conclude, the meeting and the lease agreement have deepened the relationship between the two countries. Also the two nations should join hands firmly and decisively to defeat the menace of terrorism and ensure peace, stability and security in the region, said Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.
President Rouhani and Prime Minister Modi also agreed to further intensify and diversify the existing high-level engagement through frequent and wider range of bilateral exchanges at all levels, including Policy Planning dialogue, and Parliamentary exchanges in the future.
By MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
