Tehran, Iran – Iran and India on Monday finalized an agreement for the development of the strategic Chabahar port in Tehran. The accord was reached in a meeting between Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
During the meeting, Bazrpash proposed the establishment of a joint transportation committee to enhance cooperation, stressing that this committee would activate transit capacities and facilitate the use of the North-South corridor, mehrnews reported. Jaishankar expressed India’s readiness for new investments in transportation and transit in Iran and extended an invitation for the Iranian minister to visit India.
Chabahar Port, Iran’s sole oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman, holds strategic importance both strategically and economically. The country has undertaken significant measures to develop the port, aiming to enhance maritime trade. The port comprises Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, each with five berth facilities, and is situated in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province, approximately 120 kilometers southwest of Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province, where the China-funded Gwadar port is located.
In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement for the Chabahar port, facilitating New Delhi’s access to Kabul and Central Asia. Subsequently, in a separate deal, India agreed to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment, including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port, under a build–operate–transfer (BOT) contract—the first instance of such a contract with 100 percent foreign investment in one of Iran’s ports. The initial shipment of Indian equipment, valued at $8.5 million, arrived in Chabahar port in January 2021.
India’s ambassador to Tehran, in a visit to Chabahar port last July, highlighted the golden opportunity for India to expand its economic ties, stating, “Chabahar’s position in the expansion of trade exchanges in West Asia, Eurasia, and even Europe is unique.”