Iran Press/Asia: “We did explain the Indian position. Specifically, the need for us to maintain land-based access to Afghanistan, particularly, the need for us to have the Chabahar link. Also for strategic and other reasons it was important for us to continue with that,” Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said following a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday.
“We have explained the need for us to maintain our links to Chabahar, since trade with Afghanistan is only practical if we have access to Chabahar port, and considering our commitments to Afghanistan. This is important because Pakistan continuously denies us access to land trade,” the Indian minister replied when asked whether India expected relief from the US side, Sputnik reported.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been on a regional tour since 25 October, which is taking him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Qatar.
Iran's Chabahar Port has a great deal of importance for India due to its strategic location.
Conflicts with neighbors such as China and Pakistan have forced India to use "a new channel" for accessing West and Central Asia in order to protect its interests in landlocked Afghanistan.
On 5 August, Director General of Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province Behrouz Aghaei said direct transit of goods between India and the port city of Chabahar is taking place regularly on a weekly basis.
The Chabahar port has a strategic location outside the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz; with easy access to the Indian ocean, playing an important role in regional exporting, importing, trade, and transit of goods.
Chabahar is the closest and best access point of Iran to the Indian Ocean.
In May 2016, Iran and India signed a deal to equip and operate containers and multi-purpose terminals at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar with a capital investment of $85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of $ 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.
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The continuation of transit of goods between India, Chabahar ports
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