India ready to complete Chabahar project: PM
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi expressed his country’s readiness to complete a joint project on the development of the Iranian southeastern port city of Chabahar.
In a telephone conversation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi on Friday, Modi expressed satisfaction with the process of bilateral and long-term cooperation between India and Iran, Tasnim news agency reported. The Indian premier also described the joint project of Chabahar port and its development and transformation into a regional transportation hub as an opportunity for the prosperity of the region. The two leaders also discussed cooperation at multilateral forums including the expansion of BRICS, and looked forward to their meeting on the margins of the forthcoming BRICS Summit.
Iran is among the guest countries invited to the BRICS Summit by host South Africa.
The Indian government made an outlay of one billion rupees (over $12 million) for Chahbahar port in its 2023-24 budget, the same level as the allocation in the past two fiscal years, Hindustan Times wrote. This reflected the focus on connectivity projects including the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
India had earlier committed a grant aid of $85 million and a credit facility of $150 million for developing the Shahid Beheshti terminal, for which the US granted a special waiver from sanctions imposed on Iran.
Modi said the India-Iran relationship is “underpinned by close historic and civilizational connections” including strong people-to-people contacts. He further condemned a recent fatal terrorist attack on the Shah Cheragh Shrine in Iran’s southern city of Shiraz, voicing his sympathy with the government and nation of the Islamic Republic and the families of victims of the attack. For his part, Raeisi thanked Modi for his sympathy regarding the terrorist attack in Shiraz.
He also said, “Iran wants to strengthen regional integration and develop economic relations and, thus, seeks interaction with all countries of the world, especially Asian countries.”
It is important to develop interactions with India, especially in the fields of transit and energy and regional security, Raeisi added.
He demanded the development of transportation cooperation, particularly in the INSTC, and the acceleration of putting the Chabahar port facilities into operation.