Together with Iran, India has taken a far-reaching decision. In a decision that could be called a master stock in the global world, India will now operate Iran’s Chabahar port. Due to Chabahar Port, India will now have easy access to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Russia. India has signed an agreement with Iran to operate the Chabahar port.
The Chabahar port in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province in Central Asia is the closest to India, with a distance of 550 nautical miles from Kandla port in Gujarat. Apart from this, the distance from Mumbai is 786 nautical miles. India will be able to use this port to send large ships to countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Russia, which is much needed these days.
Till now, India had to pass through Pakistan’s maritime border to reach countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Russia. It is worth mentioning here that even after the threat of US sanctions, India has not withdrawn from this agreement. Which proves that this decision of India will prove to be a master stock in the future.
The construction of Iran’s Chabahar port will give India an opportunity to encircle Pakistan. Along with this, India will now have direct access to Afghanistan. Iran can be reached by sea and from there it will be very easy for India to reach Central Asia and Russia.
Iran started Chabahar port in 1973. After 30 years in 2003, India expressed its desire to develop Chabahar Port. India said this would help connect India with Afghanistan and Central Asia. After this, in 2008, an agreement was reached between India and Iran regarding this.
However, the operation and development of Chabahar port was delayed due to the sanctions imposed on Iran. However, now an agreement has been reached between India and Iran. According to the agreement signed by India, Chabahar Port will be managed by India for the next 10 years. After PM Narendra Modi came to power, India took swift action towards Chabahar.
PM Modi went to Iran in 2016. During this period an agreement was signed between Afghanistan, India and Iran regarding Chabahar. After this, when Hassan Rouhani came to Delhi in 2018, there was talk of increasing India’s role in this project. Then in January this year, India’s Foreign Minister S. This was approved when Jaishankar reached Iran.