New Delhi: India has committed total grant assistance of USD 85 million and a credit facility of USD 150 million for the development of Shahid Beheshti Terminal, Chabahar Port, said the Union Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The information was shared by the Minister of State (MoS), External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan in a written reply.
"As part of our commitment towards infrastructure development of the Shahid Beheshti Terminal, Chabahar Port, India has supplied 6 Mobile Habour Cranes (two 140 tons and four 100 tons capacity) and other equipment worth USD 25 Million", stated the MoS.
"The 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 w.e.f. 24.12.2018. Since then, it has handled 215 vessels, 16,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), and 4 million tons of bulk and general cargo," he added.
The MoS stated that to date, a total of 2.5 million tons of wheat and 2000 tons of pulses has been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan through Chabahar Port. He also said that the port has also facilitated the supply of humanitarian assistance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic adding India has utilized the Chabahar port to ship 75,000 MTs of wheat as humanitarian food assistance to Afghanistan in 2020.
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"In 2021, India supplied 40,000 liters of environment-friendly pesticide to Iran to fight locust menace. The port has also been utilized by the Central Asian Countries to access the global market and has increased trade and economic opportunities for the traders of the region," he added.
As for the recent visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister to India, Muraleedharan said that "at the invitation of the External Affairs Minister, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Hossein Amir Abdollahian paid an official visit to India from 08-10 June 2022. During the visit, Foreign Minister Dr. Amir Abdollahian paid a courtesy call to the Prime Minister and held delegation level talks with EAM."
"During the delegation-level talks, the two Ministers discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political, cultural, and people-to-people ties. Noting the significance of bilateral cooperation in the field of regional connectivity, the two sides reviewed the progress made at the Shahid Beheshti terminal, Chabahar port. The Ministers also discussed international and regional issues of mutual interest. The Iranian Foreign Minister briefed EAM on the current situation pertaining to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). India reaffirmed that all JCPOA-related issues should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy," he added.
