India, Iran, Uzbekistan hold first Trilateral Working Group Meeting on joint use of Chabahar Port
The Chabahar port facilitates a significant transit route to connect South Asia with Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan which has consistently impeded land access from India to Afghanistan and beyond.
By Aditi Bhaduri
New Delhi: December 14, 2020: The first Trilateral Working Group Meeting between India, Iran and Uzbekistan on the joint use of Chabahar Port was held virtually on December 14, 2020.
The significance of the Chabahar port could be gauged from the fact that the Meeting was jointly chaired by Secretary (Shipping), Shi Sanjeev Ranjan, Government of India, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. D. Dehkanov and Deputy Transport Minister of Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Shahram Adamnejad.
It is a significant transit route to connect South Asia with Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan which has consistently impeded land access from India to Afghanistan and beyond.
India is involved in the development of the first phase of Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar in cooperation with Iran to open up sea-land connectivity between India and Afghanistan. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on Iran’s southern coast, the port can be easily accessed. from India’s western coast.
The port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties among the three countries.
The india-Iran-Uzbekistan trilateral meeting was held as a follow up of decisions taken during the virtual summit held between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev on December 11, 2020, when Uzbekistan had evinced interest in using the Chabahar port as a transit port.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs had said Uzbekistan’s involvement would “open up economic opportunities for the traders and business community of the region. Besides Uzbekistan, other Central Asian countries have also shown interest in using the port. India seeks to cooperate closely with regional countries on this issue.”
India has also pinned expectations on the new incoming US administration to lift sanctions imposed on Iran by President Donald Trump, which would make India’s involvement in the port easier.
During the meeting, the participants discussed joint use of Chabahar Port for trade and transit purposes and enhanced regional connectivity. In this regard, India has also pitched for including Uzbekistan in the International North South Trade Corridor. Uzbekistan is resource rich, with enormous deposits of uranium, gold, silver, oil. It is also Central Asia’s most populous country but one which is doubly landlocked, which makes connectivity a priority for the country.
Chabahar’s significance for Afghan trade and economy, which is bital for the country’s stabilization has even incentivised the USA to exempt the port from sanctions it has imposed you n Iran.
The port has also played a significant role for the region to deliver humanitarian assistance during the COVID pandemic, something that was noted at the virtual meeting on Monday.
India-Uzbekistan relations have been deepening in recent times with close cooperation in numerous fields .However, their full trade potential has yet to be realized and Chabahar port can help accelerate India-Uzbek trade.
India’s proposal to hold “Chabahar Day” on the sidelines of the International Maritime Summit scheduled to be hosted by India in January 2021 has also been welcomed by all sides.
