New Delhi: The sanction on Iran imposed by US did not have any effect on the Chabahar port project of India, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Responding to questions raised by Bahujan Samaj Party MP Ritesh Pandey, the Union Minister said, "the US sanctions are not relevant to this project at all,"
As for the BSP MP's claim that Iran has been publicly saying that the work at Chabahar port got "miserably delayed" due to US sanctions, the Minister said that the assumption was wrong.
"I would like to inform the member that (his) assertion is completely inaccurate. This agreement was signed in 2016. We took possession of the terminal in 2018. We have already supplied six cranes. The terminal is fully functional," he added.
Pandey also asked whether the Union Government has entered into any "backdoor agreement" to continue using the port to provide help to Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries following the Taliban's capturing of Afghanistan.
"All our agreements on the Chabahar port operations are limited to Iran. Originally, there was a trilateral agreement but that was the basis to set it up. In terms of port operations, we are not required to have an agreement with the government of Afghanistan. And, I assure you that the port is functioning and functioning well," the Minister stated in his reply.
He also informed the House that India has utilized the Chabahar Port in Iran to deliver more than 1 lakh tonnes of wheat and 2,000 tonnes of pulses to Afghanistan till date besides extending help during Covid pandemic.
"Recently, it facilitated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. India has utilized the Chabahar port to ship 75,000 MT of wheat as humanitarian food assistance to Afghanistan in 2020. Till date, a total of 1,10,000 tons of wheat and 2,000 tons of pulses has been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan," stated Jaishankar.
"India has committed total grant assistance of USD 85 Million and a credit facility of USD 150 Million for development of Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port. As part of our commitment towards infrastructure development of 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," he added.
