The Chabahar port has been playing a significant role in building a cordial relationship between India and Iran. The only oceanic port in Iran, Chabahar is important for reasons like trade and transport between India, Iran and Afghanistan.
About Chabahar:
The port of Chabahar is the only Iranian port that has direct access to the Indian Ocean. The Chabahar seaport, located in southeastern Iran on the Gulf of Oman has been the centre of transport, transit and trade.
India has been pushing for development on the port since years now. In 2016, India and Iran signed a deal worth $8 billion for the development of Chabahar port, and the industries in the chabar Special economic Zone. The investment would also connect Afghanistan and Central Asia.
On March 5, 2021, India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar addressed the Maritime Summit, five years after the signing of the tripartite agreement on the establishment of a Trilateral Transport and Transit Corridor. The minister talked about including the Chabahar port as part of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC). He also mentioned expanding it to include Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Why is the Chabahar Port – North-South Transport Corridor Important?
Ever since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the Central Asian Republics have been facing connectivity issues. Nearly thirty years after their independence, the region struggles to gain access to the Indian Ocean, hampering its trade potential. The vast gas reserves of few countries in the region remained underutilized owing to the lack of market access.
Furthermore, despite the geographical proximity of South and Central Asia, the region remained one of most least connected areas in the world.
The Chabahar port comes as an option to address major impediments in this regard.
It bypasses the constraints posed by the geopolitical instability in Afghanistan that has been plaguing the country for almost four decades. Afghanistan, along with its Central Asia neighbors, suffered great losses in trade expansion due to it.
The geopolitical rivalry between India and Pakistan has virtually made it impossible for the Central Asia region to gain access to South Asia.
India, on the other hand, has great potential to invest in the oil and gas industries in Central Asia if the port becomes fully operational.
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