Union Shipping Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and Minister of State for Shipping Shripad Naik inaugurated the Chabahar Day conference in Mumbai.
Dignitaries from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were present on the occasion.
The Chabahar port is a key pillar of India’s Indo-Pacific vision to connect with Eurasia with Indian Ocean Region. The port will also be part of the International North South Transport Corridor network connecting India.
This trade route will open new avenues for India and Eurasian countries. He said that Iran has given special incentives to increase trade cooperation activities between India and Iran through Chabahar port.
About Chabahar Port
Chabahar Port is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran’s only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each of which has five berths. It is only about 170 kilometres west of the Pakistani port of Gwadar.
India and Iran first agreed to plans to further develop Shahid Beheshti port in 2003, but did not do so on account of sanctions against Iran. As of 2016, the port has ten berths. In May 2016, India and Iran signed a bilateral agreement in which India would refurbish one of the berths at Shahid Beheshti port, and reconstruct a 600 meter long container handling facility at the port.
In October 2017, India’s first shipment of wheat to Afghanistan was sent through the Chabahar Port. In December 2018, India took over the port’s operations.