India Commemorates ‘Chabahar Day’, Reiterates Importance Of Chabahar Port
Chabahar, a landlocked land that acts as a gateway for Afghanistan and Central Asia is in dire need of infrastructural projects like those on the Chabahar port.
India acknowledged this on their 2 day Maritime India Summit and agreed to upend maritime programs in the region. For this purpose, the Government commemorated Chabahar Day on Thursday after ministerial pressure from 6 other nations.
This was announced in the recently concluded Maritime India Summit, where the Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar spoke about the importance of Iran’s Chabahar port. Jaishankar said that the port has established credibility in a short time by swiftly handling shipments from Germany, Russia, Thailand, UAE, and other countries.
It was here that India drew attention to the infrastructural deficit of the region stressing the need to fulfill the region’s demand.
India to commemorate ‘Chabahar Day’ today with ministerial presence from six nations
Indian shipping minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted the growing port calls at Chabahar underlining the need for establishing more South East Asia links with Chabahar.
The Iranian Minister of Roads, Mohammad Eslami reiterated this when he asked for increased credit lines from India. The fund is needed to complete the first phase of the port infrastructure. This could increase the cargo handling capacity to 8.5 million tonnes, said Eslami
The port was first proposed in 2003 and subsequently a deal was signed between Iran and India for the development of the port in 2018. At present, it’s the sole port in Iran that has access in the Indian Ocean region, making it crucial for trade.
Chabahar port lies along the Makran coast of Iran which falls under the Sistan-Baluchistan province. Often regarded as the strategic counter to the Gwadar port of Pakistan, Chabahar is a reliable transit for trade in Afghanistan and Central Asia
In recent years Iran US tensions have halted the development of port. India primarily uses it to export wheat and pesticides to Afghanistan. This has been part of the strategy to boost trade in Central Asia.
Reference: dnaindia.com
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