Chabahar being dropped from India Budget disappointing for Tehran, Delhi: Iran FM
India Today
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the Chabahar Port a 'golden gateway' connecting the Indian Ocean region to Central Asia and beyond.
India’s decision not to allocate any funds this year for Iran’s Chabahar port project is disappointing for both New Delhi and Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, noting that the project could have played a key role in enhancing connectivity to Central Asia and Europe.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, when asked whether the budgetary cuts to the jointly developed project were a disappointment, Araghchi said, “Well, I think it’s a disappointment for both Iran and India.”
“Chabahar, as Prime Minister Modi once said, is a golden gate that connects the Indian Ocean area to Central Asia, the Caucasus, and then to Europe — and vice versa. It is a very strategic port. If fully developed, it can play a very important role in connecting India through Iran to Central Asia, to the Caucasus, and then to Europe,” the Iranian minister said.
He added, “That would be the best transit route, I think. I hope that one day we can witness the full development of this port”.
The Chabahar Port project is a strategic port being developed by India at Chabahar in southeastern Iran, aimed at creating a direct trade and transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan.
It is important to India because it enhances regional connectivity, boosts trade access to landlocked Central Asian markets, counters China’s influence in Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, and strengthens India’s geopolitical presence in the region.
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