Diplomatist Magazine DIplomatist September 2018 | Page 81

SPECIAL REPORT
The Chabahar port is expected to provide
greater connectivity, acting as a feeder port
to the International North-South Transport
Corridor (INSTC) to Russia as well as a land
route to Central Asia. The INSTC, initiated
in 2000 by Russia, India, and Iran, is a multi-
modal transportation route linking the Indian
Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea,
via Iran, and onward to northern Europe via St.
Petersburg in Russia.
Further, India is planning to develop well-
connected railway services from the Chabahar
port to other parts of the region to better
facilitate trade between India, Afghanistan,
Iran and other central Asian countries. Some of
the important rail lines being constructed with
Indian help are:
1. Chabahar Zahedan-Bam-Hajigak
Railway
India plans to extend the Zahedan-Bam-
Mirjaveh railway in Iran to the mineral-rich
Hajigak region of Afghanistan. In this regard,
India is planning to build a 900 kilometers
Chabahar-Zahedan-Hajigak railway line which
will connect Chabahar to Hajigak.
As part of India’s North-South Transport
Corridor initiative, India has also agreed to
develop the Chabahar-Zahedan railway section
of the Chabahar–Zahedan-Hajigak railway line,
for which India will be supplying $400 million
worth of steel for its construction. In addition,
India will spend $1.6 billion to construct the
Chabahar to Zahedan rail line.
2. Mashhad-Herat-Mazar-i-Sharif
Railway
This rail line has four sections, two each
in Iran and Afghanistan. The railway network
connects Khaf-Shamtiq in Iran to Jono in
Afghanistan, which extends further to Herat.
Herat is already linked with Turkmenistan via
rail and road routes. India and Afghanistan plan
to extend the rail route from Herat to Mazar-
i-Sharif. Mazar-i-Sharif is already linked with
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan via rail as well as
via road routes.
India ships wheat to Afghanistan via
Chabahar
On October 29, 2017, the fi rst shipment
through the Chabahar port was sent from India
en route to Afghanistan.
“The shipment of wheat is a landmark
moment as it will pave the way for
Apart from its
importance
from the trade
point of view, the
Chabahar port
also symbolises
the increasing
bonhomie shared
between India,
Afghanistan, and
Iran.
operationalisation of the Chabahar port as an
alternative, reliable, and robust connectivity for
Afghanistan. It will open up new opportunities
for trade and transit from and to Afghanistan,
and enhance trade and commerce between the
three countries (India, Iran, and Afghanistan)
and the wider region,” said an MEA statement.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin
Rabbani fl agged off the consignment through
a joint video conference.
Marking the occasion, PM Modi took
to social media and said, “I congratulate
Afghanistan and Iran on the Indian wheat
shipment being fl agged off from Kandla to
Afghanistan through Chabahar.”
India had earlier sent goods through
the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas in 2003,
as Pakistan had not eased land access to
Afghanistan.
Conclusion
India has long faced hostility from Pakistan,
which does not allow India to send goods to
Afghanistan through the land routes in Pakistan.
The Chabahar port has provided an alternative
which will provide India with better access
to the Afghan market. The project, once fully
completed, would allow India to access other
markets in central Asia as well.
Pakistan has always been wary of Indian
presence in Afghanistan, and it wants to trim
India’s role in its backyard. But the friendship
between India and Afghanistan is time-tested,
and Afghan policy towards India is fully
free of Pakistani infl uence. India has been
deeply engaged in development activities in
Afghanistan for years now, but the landlocked
country also provides a lot of opportunities for
trade which India should now explore more
concretely through the expansion of trade
routes. This will, undoubtedly, offer to be a
win-win situation for both countries.
Apart from its importance from the trade
point of view, the Chabahar port also symbolises
the increasing bonhomie shared between
India, Afghanistan, and Iran. This trilateral
cooperation will provide many opportunities
for trade once the Chahabar port is fully
operational, giving an impetus to India’s trade
with the region and far beyond to Central
Asia, which India considers to be a part of its
extended neighbourhood.
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 9 • September 2018, Noida • 81