India Holds Talks with Iran over Development of Chabahar Port
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – India's Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said he has held talks with Iranian officials on a range of issues, including the development of Iran’s port of Chabahar.
Gadkari said that during his recent trip to Tehran, he held talks with Iranian officials on a wide range of issues, including developing Chabahar Port and funding a rail link between Chabahar and Zahedan, the provincial capital of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan, Money Control website reported on Tuesday.
Gadkari traveled to Tehran on August 5-6 to represent India at President Hassan Rouhani's inauguration ceremony.
"In the meetings, both sides positively assessed the progress in the implementation of the decisions taken during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Iran last year, including the progress of Chabahar Port. Both sides reiterated their commitment to complete and operationalize the port at the earliest," the Indian minister said.
He added that India is ready to take up work at Chabahar Port.
Chabahar is the closest and best access point of Iran to the Indian Ocean and Iran has devised serious plans to turn it into a transit hub for immediate access to markets in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.
Based on a preliminary agreement signed between the two countries last in 2015, India was supposed invest $85 million over the construction of two berths at Chabahar port. It was halted, however, after India postponed the payment of its investment share.
