Given the unpredictable situation in West Asia, India`s decision to develop Iran`s Chabahar Port could not have come at a more appropriate time. It could prove to be a major turning point in Delhi-Tehran relations and lead the way for fresh equations and realignments in the Indian sub-continent and West Asia. On May 6, India and Iran broke the 12-year-old jinx by signing a MoU to develop the port, located in the Sistan-Balochistan province of Iran bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Chabahar is a county with a port on Iran`s south-eastern coast. Sistan-Balochistan Province where the Sunni Muslims are in majority is one of the most underdeveloped among the country`s 31 states. It is of strategic importance to India as well as Afghanistan.
India has been trying to get sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan. India has already built a 220 km road worth about $100 million in western Afghanistan, only to create a link with Chabahar Port. The port-county could also provide connectivity to India to Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe via railway.
With this signing of the MoU, the road is now clear for Indian firms to lease two existing berths at the port and make them operational as container and multi-purpose cargo terminals. The terminals would provide Afghanistan alternate access to the sea port, which in turn will earn connectivity to the regional global market. Chabahar Port will also help India export more to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
It should also be noted that Chabahar is along the coast from Gwadar port in Pakistan that is being developed with help from China. The MoU is timely because experts from Iran and the P5+1 group of countries (the US, Russia, Germany, France, Britain and China) are working out a draft agreement over the controversial nuclear programme of Iran. According to reports, an agreement over the most ticklish issue plaguing the region for long could become a reality by end of June.
Though the nuclear deal is almost a reality, the US has been warning countries, including India, against rushing to Iran and signing agreements. India of course, hasn`t paid any heed as it has sensed, and rightly so, that the signing of the nuclear deal could draw would-be global investors to grab the market in Iran that has been reeling under international sanctions for years. In such a scenario, it would be unwise on India`s part to not sign the MoU.
Also, India is aware that China has warmed up to Pakistan. In fact, during his recent visit to Islamabad, President Xi Jinping signed energy and infrastructure agreements worth $46 billion with that country. Incidentally, Chabahar is just along the coast from Gwadar port in Pakistan that is being developed with China`s help.
With West Asia on the verge of another round of flaring up of old disputes, India has to give priority to its national interest. West Asia, led by Saudi Arabia, is the biggest supplier of oil to India. But in recent times, India has begun to import more oil from Iran.
However, Iran remains the seventh biggest supplier of oil to India. Iraq, where Iran is playing a crucial role, has not recovered from...
http://www.nyoooz.com/hyderabad/102259/chabahar-may-prove-port-of-call-for-india#
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