Modi to Sign 3-Nation Chabahar Port Pact on Iran Visit Next Week

Local Baluch fishermen push a boat to the shore at a fishing port in Tiss village in the suburb of the port city of Chabahar. (Photo: Reuters)

India, Iran and Afghanistan are about to sign an agreement to develop Chabahar port and establish a transit-transport corridor during PM Modi’s visit to Iran next week. This deal would make it much easier for India to access markets as far as the Central Asian republics, the Hindustan Times reported.

The agreement to be signed on 23 May, in the presence of PM Modi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is the highlight of Modi’s two-day visit.

The establishment of this transit-transport corridor with Chabahar port in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province will give Afghanistan better trade access to India bypassing Pakistan.

The three countries have been trying to negotiate the Chabahar Agreement since 2003 but it has successfully worked out now since nuclear-related sanctions were lifted on Tehran in January.