Union Minister Sonowal Visits Iran, Hands Over Six Mobile Harbour Cranes To Chabahar Port

The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, on Saturday (20 August), visited the Shahid Beheshti port at Chabahar in Iran to review the progress in the development of the port.

To invigorate the potential of Chabahar port, Sarbananda Sonowal handed over six mobile harbour cranes to Indian Ports Global Chabahar Free Trade Zone (IPGCFTZ).

An Indian company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), took over the operations of the Chabahar Port with effect on 24 December 2018.

Sarbananda Sonowal and Dr Ali Akbar Safaee, Deputy Minister and Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran, held a meeting on maritime and port cooperation development between Iran and India.

Both the delegation discussed the possibilities of unlocking trade potential between Central Asian countries with South Asian, ASEAN and even from far east countries like Japan and Korea.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reiterated the role Chabahar port can play in reducing distance, time and cost.

It was decided at the meeting to form a joint technical committee for the smooth functioning of the port. The panel also addressed the future course of action toward the development of the port.

Iran's Chabahar Port, developed through Indian assistance, has provided much-needed sea access to the landlocked countries of the region, including Afghanistan and emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Iran in May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a Trilateral Agreement to establish the International Transport and Transit Corridor (Chabahar Agreement).

Since India Ports Global Private Limited (IPGPL) assumed operations of Shahid Beheshti Port, it has handled over 4.8 million tons of bulk cargo.

The trans-shipment of goods was from varied countries, including Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Germany, Oman, Romania, Russia, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.