India, Afghanistan and Iran meet on the Chabahar Agreement
Mormugoa and New Mangalore Port from India, in addition to JNPT, Mundra, Kandla and Cochin, will be included as part of designated route under the Chabahar Agreement.
New Delhi: The second meeting of the Follow-up Committee between India, Afghanistan and Iran on the Chabahar Agreement took place on December 20, 2019.
The meeting of the Follow-up Committee for implementation of the trilateral agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran was held at the level of Joint Secretary/ Director General.
The India Ports Global Ltd company has taken over the port operations at Shaheed Beheshti Port at Chabahar a year ago in December 2018 and progress has been steady since. Over 5 lakh tons of cargo has been handled successfully, which also included exports from Afghanistan through Chabahar Port, beginning since February 2019.
This was the first time that India took over operations of a port in a foreign country.
All three countires agreed at the meeting to include Mormugoa and New Mangalore Port from India; in addition to JNPT, Mundra, Kandla and Cochin as part of designated route under the Chabahar Agreement, a statement from the External Affairs Ministry of India said.
A study will be conducted by the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) to streamline cargo transit through Shahid Beheshti Port, Chabahar.
It was agreed to finalise the protocol to harmonise transit, roads, customs and consular matters. Till that time, the TIR Convention will continue to be used for cargo movement.
The sides also decided to organize promotional and business events in Afghanistan and India to popularize Chabahar port.
The Third Follow-up Committee meeting will be held in India in the first half of 2020 followed by the 2nd Coordination Council meeting.
In May 2016 in Tehran Iran, India, and Afghanistan had signed a tripartite trade and transit corridor agreement on Chabahar port which allows the three countries to open new routes to connect among themselves via converting the Iranian southern port of Chabahar into a tranist hub bypassing Pakistan.
