India, Iran on development of Chabahar Port

Recently, Tehran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani visited India for foreign level talks on various issues.

During the delegation level talks, the two sides reiterated their commitment to continue cooperation for development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal of the Chabahar Port.

The Chabahar Port:

The Chabahar Port is a key pillar of India’s India-Pacific visionto connect Eurasia with the Indian Ocean Region.
The Chabahar Port located in Iran is the commercial transit centre for the region and especially Central Asia.
Significance:
- The portwill also be part International North-South Transport Corridor network connecting India.
- Notably, the first rail transit cargo from Russia to Indiaentered Iran recently through the Sarakhs border crossing, marking the official launch of the eastern section of the North-South railway corridor.

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC):

INSTC is India’s vision and initiative to reduce the time taken for EXIM shipments to reach Russia, Europe, and enter the central Asian markets.
This route connects India and Russia through Iran and Azerbaijan.

Why Central Asia assumes significance for India?

Geo-strategic location, global power hub, leader in Eurasia
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)
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.