India, Iran and Uzbekistan hold discussion on Chabahar port

This was the second virtual meeting of the trilateral working group on the joint use of Chabahar port, and it was held exactly a year after the first meeting.

Updated on: Dec 15, 2021, 01:02:54 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

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India, Iran and Uzbekistan on Tuesday discussed the further development of the transit and transportation corridor centred round the Iranian port of Chabahar during a trilateral meeting on the joint use of the port on the Gulf of Oman.

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan had triggered speculation about the viability of Chabahar port. (File photo)

This was the second virtual meeting of the trilateral working group on the joint use of Chabahar port, and it was held exactly a year after the first meeting.

“The participants underlined the important role played by Chabahar Port during humanitarian crises as well as in enhancing regional connectivity,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement. “They also took note of the increase in transit traffic between Central Asia and South Asia through the Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port and discussed further development of transportation corridor,” the statement added, referring to the terminal at the port operated by the Indian company, India Ports Global Limited. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan had triggered speculation about the viability of Chabahar port, but external affairs minister S Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha on Friday that the port had emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region and was a “more economical and stable route” for landlocked countries to reach India and the global market.

The Indian side agreed to send a high-level delegation to Chabahar next year at the invitation of the Iranian side.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More