Sidelining Pakistan: India, Afghanistan And Iran Fast-Track Chabahar Port Negotiations, Likely To Ink Deal Today

India, Iran and Afghanistan have kickstarted talks on the Chabahar port in Tehran for fast-tracking the developmental process, reported MEHR News.

The meeting is reportedly being held between India’s Secretary of Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs T. S. Tirumurti, Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO) Managing Director Mohammad Rastad and Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation.

The final deal is expected to be inked today as soon as the three parties reach consensus over the draft provisions of the Chabahar agreement.

The Chabahar port is easily accessible from the Western Coast and is touted as a gateway to golden opportunities for trade with central Asian countries by India, Iran and Afghanistan. It also provides impetus to ramping up trade among the three countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi.

So far, India has sent three cargo ships of wheat and grains to the port which has been trucked to Afghanistan.

India would operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with a capital investment of $85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of $22.95 million on a 10-year lease. These provisions are part of an agreement signed between India and Iran in May 2016.

It was first conceptualised when Late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power. Since then, several roadblocks have stopped or stalled the progress at various intervals.