Modi meets Rouhani
By IAR Desk
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the President of Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani in New York,h on the sidelines of the High Level Segment of the 74th Session of UNGA today. They discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest, India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
Noting that India and Iran shared old and civilisational ties, the two leaders positively assessed the progress in bilateral relations since their first meeting at Ufa in 2015. They especially mentioned operationalisation of Chabahar Port and noted it’s importance as gateway to and for the landlocked Afghanistan and the Central Asian region, according to the ministry.
Modi reiterated India’s support for giving priority to diplomacy, dialogue and confidence building in the interest of maintaining peace, security and stability in the Gulf region, which is of vital importance for India.
Both sides also agreed to mark the 70th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations in 2020.
Revelations between India and Iran have been strained recently as succumbing to US pressure India stopped importing oil from Iran. India had been Iran’s second largest petroleum buyer till the time US allowed sanctions waivers. Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif had visited India in May earlier this year and met with his then Indian counterpart Ms. Sushma Swaraj and National Security Advisor Mr. Ajit Doval as part of Iran’s regional outreach to drum up support after the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the imposition of fresh sanctions on Iran. Zarif’s visit however came to naught. Allocations for the Chabahar port have also consistently decreased with Iran announcing that it would like to connect it’s Chabahar pq1ort with Pakistan’s Gwadar port, which China is developing.
In recent days China, embroiled in a trade war with the US, has signed a mega oil deal with Iran to the tune of $400 billion, and will pay for the crude in yuan, bypassing the established petrodollar system.
