Diplomatist Magazine DIplomatist September 2018 | Page 80

Chabahar port symbolises a new trilateral
partnership in the offing
T
he Chabahar port in Iran, developed
by India, presents huge potential for
enhancing India’s trade with Iran,
Afghanistan, and other central Asian countries
by bypassing the land route via hostile Pakistan.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated
the first phase of the port construction on
December 3, 2017.
The benefi ts of the Chabahar port
The distance between India’s Kandla port
and Chabahar is very short, which will serve to
reduce the transportation cost and turnaround
time for traded goods once the latter becomes
operational. Furthermore, Chahabar is in very
close proximity to the Gwadar port in Pakistan,
developed by China, and can thus be useful in
helping India counter the dragon’s foothold in
the region.
The Chabahar port, which is being developed
at the cost of $500 million, will not only make
trade with Afghanistan easier - providing
uninterrupted access, but can also help India
look beyond reaching out to other central Asian
countries through the yet-to-be developed
International North-South Transport Corridor
(INSTC).
80 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 9 • September 2018, Noida
“The arc of economic benefit from this
agreement (Chabahar) could extend to the
depths of the Central Asian countries. When
linked with the International North-South
Transport Corridor, it would touch South Asia
at one end and Europe at another,” Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi had recently remarked
with regard to the importance of Chabahar.
As per the agreement on Chabahar port with
Iran, for next ten years, India will operate two
terminals and fi ve berths with multipurpose
cargo handling capacities in the port. This was
soon followed by the agreement between India,
Afghanistan, and Iran for the development of
the Trilateral Transport and Transit Corridor
connecting Chahbahar with Afghan road and
rail networks.
“This is a very, very crucial agreement for
Afghanistan. The opening of this corridor will
help us to fully reach our potential, give us
a new trade route. This is a completely new
chapter,” said Shaida Abdali, Afghanistan’s
ambassador to India, recently.
Apart from developing Chabahar, India
has also committed $1.6 billion for a 650 km
rail link from Chabahar to Zahedan and into
Afghanistan.