Chabahar strategically vital to India, will boost regional connectivity: Expert

Chabahar in South-Eastern Iran is vital to India’s westwards connectivity, providing inroads to Afghanistan and Central Asia and the key to the north-south International transport corridor linking Mumbai with Moscow.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that the Chabahar port has not only emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region but also facilitated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing the commemoration of the Chabahar day event, held on the sidelines of the last day of the Maritime India Summit, Jaishankar said, “The port is part of our shared commitment towards peace, stability and prosperity of the people of Afghanistan. India has utilized the Chabahar port to ship 75,000 MT of wheat as humanitarian food assistance to Afghanistan in September 2020.”

Read:Hopeful membership of INSTC project will be expanded: Jaishankar

Significance of Chabahar port for India and the region

“Chabahar port is not only important for India but equally for Afghanistan, which makes it more special. One aspect is India’s Indo-Pacific vision and the other is the Eurasian corridor, India’s connectivity to Central Asia and beyond. Chabahar connects India not only to Indo-Pacific but also to Eurasia, where India has been a welcome partner there. It is also about India’s strategic as well as regional space,” Meena Singh Roy, a research fellow and head of the West Asia Centre at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi told ETV Bharat.

“US is one factor which has dominated the discourse of India Iran relationship. Even for the United States of America, the functional Chabahar and its connectivity with Afghanistan is equally important. Besides security concern, from an economic point of view, Chabahar port helps Afghanistan reduces its dependency on Pakistan and it opens up many opportunities for the Afghan people. Be it Russia, China, the US, Iran, India, every regional actor has its stakes in Chabahar port. In a larger context, China is trying to play an important role in Afghanistan. China’s intention is more towards BRI, Afghanistan was never invited to be a part of BRI, but now it is. Therefore, in the overall regional and the global dynamics, Chabahar port holds a very important place,” she explained.

Chabahar port is strategically important for India’s trade ties and in boosting regional connectivity with Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Central Asian countries. It is considered crucial for India’s Indo-Pacific vision.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministers from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Armenia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Uzbekistan are attending the ‘Chabahar Day’ meeting.

Read:India needs to view Central Asia as bridge to Europe: Expert on Chabahar port

Realizing the importance of regional connectivity, the Government of India, made a landmark decision to undertake an overseas port investment in Chabahar. While this project had been under discussion for some time, it was during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran in 2016 that a Trilateral Agreement to establish an International Transport and Transit Corridor was signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan.

The transport and transit corridor is intended to ensure the unhindered flow of commerce throughout the region and to create a safe, secure and reliable route to trade initially with Afghanistan, and thereafter with Central Asia as a whole.

Chabahar in South-Eastern Iran is vital to India’s westwards connectivity, providing inroads to Afghanistan and Central Asia and the key to the north-south International transport corridor linking Mumbai with Moscow.

Other central Asian countries have been showing interest to be part of the project. During the commemoration of Chabahar day on Thursday, the External Affairs Minister Jaishankar proposed the inclusion of Chabahar in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route.

“I am hopeful that during the INSTC Coordination Council meeting, member states would agree to the expansion of the INSTC route to include the Chabahar Port and also agree on expanding the membership of this project,” he said.

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is an important trade corridor project, wherein India is partnering with 12 countries to establish an economic corridor for the benefit of our peoples.

“We also welcome the interest of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to join the multilateral corridor project. Establishing an eastern corridor through Afghanistan would maximize its potential,” Jaishankar further reiterated.

Read:India, Iran and Uzbekistan to hold talks on Monday on joint use Chabahar port

Jaishankar also highlighted Chabahar’s role in recent years in sending humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and Iran and in opening up trade opportunities.

The Chabahar Day event reflects India’s commitment to work with regional stakeholders to enhance connectivity and provide unhindered access to the sea to the landlocked Central Asian states, he said.

India also assisted Iran to fight the worst ever locust invasion in the last 25 years by supplying 25 Metric tonnes of Malathion in June 2020, again through the Chabahar port. The second batch of 25 Metric tonnes has recently reached Chabahar Port.

Also, besides the Indian exports of food products, the port has handled several shipments and trans-shipments from Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Ukraine and the UAE.

(With inputs from agencies)