The Chabahar port of Iran has become a permanent member of the World Free Zones Organization, local reports have said.
The World FZO is a non-governmental, non-profit entity based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
According to the Chabahar Free Zone’s Office of Public Relations, World FZO CEO Samir Hamrouni announced the approval of Chabahar port as a permanent member of his organization through a letter addressed to the Chabahar Free Zone Managing Director Abdolrahim Kordi.
Based on this decision, Chabahar, as a permanent member with the right to vote, can from now on actively and effectively participate in the decisions and events of the World FZO.
In his letter to Kordi, Hamrouni has also expressed hope that the Chabahar Free Zone and the World Free Zones Organization would be able to have constructive cooperation with each other and with other free zones around the world.
Chabahar is Iran’s only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman.
The country has taken serious measures for developing this port in order to improve maritime trade, said the local reports.
The Chabahar port consists of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, each of which has five berth facilities.
The port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Balouchestan Province and is about 120 kilometers southwest of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, where the China-funded Gwadar port is situated.
In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement for the strategically-located Chabahar to give New Delhi access to Kabul and Central Asia.
Based on an agreement with Iran, India is going to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.