Transit hub and stable route to reach India: Jaishankar on Iran’s Chabahar port

Chabahar port facilitated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, and India used it to ship 75,000 tons of wheat as food assistance to Afghanistan in 2020.

Published on: Dec 10, 2021, 19:59:20 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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Iran’s Chabahar port has emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region and is a “more economical and stable route” for landlocked countries to reach India and the global market, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in response to a question from MP Ritesh Pandey of the Bahujan Samaj Party that India has committed a total grant assistance of $85 million and a credit facility of $150 million for developing the Shahid Behesti terminal. (PTI PHOTO.)

Jaishankar’s remarks in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha indicated India’s continuing commitment to the port on the Gulf of Oman despite speculation about its viability following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in mid-August.

“The Chabahar port has provided much needed sea-access to landlocked Afghanistan. The port has also emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region. It is a more economical and stable route for landlocked countries of the region to reach India and the global market,” he said in the reply.

Chabahar port facilitated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, and India used it to ship 75,000 tons of wheat as food assistance to Afghanistan in 2020. A total of 110,000 tons of wheat and 2,000 tons of pulses have been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan so far.

During the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Iran in May 2016, a trilateral agreement to establish the International Transport and Transit Corridor (Chabahar Agreement) was signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan. India is participating in developing the first phase of Shahid Behesti terminal at the port in cooperation with the Iranian government.

Jaishankar said in response to a question from MP Ritesh Pandey of the Bahujan Samaj Party that India has committed a total grant assistance of $85 million and a credit facility of $150 million for developing the Shahid Behesti terminal.

“As part of our commitment towards infrastructure development of Shahid Behesti terminal, Chabahar port, India has supplied [six] mobile habour cranes (two 140 tons and four 100 tons capacity) and other equipment worth $25 million,” Jaishankar said.

The Indian company, India Ports Global Limited, through its wholly owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone, took over operations at Chabahar port from December 24, 2018. Since then, it has handled 160 vessels, 14,420 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of cargo and 3.2 million tons of bulk and general cargo.

The Shahid Behesti terminal has handled shipments and trans-shipments from countries such as Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Ukraine, Oman, Romania, Bangladesh, Australia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates.

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

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