Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: India and Iran on May 13 night signed a long term agreement covering Indian operations at theChabaharport, with New Delhi offering a credit window worth $250 million for the development of infrastructure around the strategic facility in the Gulf of Oman.The agreement was signed in Tehran in the presence of ports and shipping minister SarbanandaSonowal and his Iranian counterpart MehrdadBazrpash.
Sonowal’s visit amid India’s general elections emphasises the importance attached by New Delhi to theChabahar port and its place in ambitious plans to forge greater connectivity with Iran, Afghanistan and the landlocked central Asian states.
Sonowal said with the signing of the agreement, the two countries have laid the foundations for India’s long-term involvement in Chabahar.
“The signature of this contract will have a multiplier effect on the viability and visibility of Chabahar port,” Sonowal said. “Chabahar is not only the closest Iranian port to India, but it is also an excellent port from a nautical point of view.”