India urges Central Asian nations to use Chabahar Port

Published: 23rd Feb, 2024

Context

At the recent Bishkek meet, India has urged countries of the Central Asian regions to use the port of Chabahar located on the southeast coast of Iran to enhance connectivity and trade with India and other countries in the world.

About

About Chabahar Port

Chabahar sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman.
It is Iran’s first deepwater port that puts the country on the global oceanic trade route map.
The port lies to the west of Iran’s border with Pakistan, about as far as Gwadar, a competing port developed by China in Pakistan, lies to the east of the border.
The portwill also be part International North-South Transport Corridor network connecting India.

International North-South Transport Corridor:

International North-South Transport Corridor is a corridor to increase trade between India and Russia.
This trade route is 7200 Km long and the transport of freight is through a multi-mode network of roads, ships, and railways.
This route connects India and Russia through Iran and Azerbaijan.
The corridor is aimed at reducing the carriage cost between India and Russia by about 30 per cent and bringing down the transit time from 40 days by more than half.
Russia, India, and Iran are the founding member states of INSTC.
- The agreement was signed in 2002.
There are 13 member states of the INSTC project – India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Oman, Turkey, Syria and Ukraine.
Bulgaria is the Observer State. The Baltic countries like Latvia and Estonia have also expressed willingness to join the INSTC.
India shows interest in extending INSTC membership to countries like Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Establishing a land route via Kabul and Tashkent to form the INSTC’s “Eastern corridor” would maximise the potential of this collaboration.
Also, India wants to include Chabahar port to be included in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

Why Central Asia assumes significance for India?

Geo-strategic location:Its geographical proximity, strategic location, and historical linkages make it an important partner for New Delhi.
Energy hub:Central Asia has an abundance of oil and gas deposits. The region contains vast hydrocarbon fields both on-shore and off-shore in the Caspian Sea which homes around 4 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves and approximately 3 percent of oil reserves.
- Gas (Turkmenistan)
- Oil, gas and uranium(Kazakhstan)
- Uranium and gas(Uzbekistan)
- Hydropower (Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan)
Global power hub:Strategically, Central Asia is emerging as the next high-stakes competition ground for global powers, hence, it would behoove India to pay closer attention.
Leading role:Central Asia provides India with the right platform to leverage its political, economic, and cultural connections to play a leading role in Eurasia.
Significant transportation hub:The region is a major transportation hub for gas and oil pipelines and multi-modal corridors connecting China, Russia, Europe, and the IOR.

Central Asia:

Central Asia is a landlocked region, which is located in the heart of Asia. It forms a part of India’s extended neighbourhood.
The region is composed of the 5 post-soviet countries:
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
- Turkmenistan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Tajikistan
The countries are also known as 5 “Stans” due to the same ending in their names.
It is bounded on the north by Russia and on the south by Iran, Afghanistan, and China.

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India urges Central Asian nations to use Chabahar Port

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