Gadkari emphasises importance of Chabahar port during Iran visit

Minister Gadkari strengthens India-Iran relations, discusses Chabahar Port development, and attends swearing-in ceremony in Tehran.

The port of Chabahar will help India connect with Afghanistan and Central Asia, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari conveyed to the Iranian authorities on Tuesday. Mr. Gadkari interacted with the Iranian officials during his visit to Tehran where he represented the Government of India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new President of Iran, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian.

“We look forward to continued collaboration and mutual growth, reaffirming our commitment to furthering India-Iran relations across various sectors for the prosperity and development of both countries,” Mr. Gadkari said in a congratulatory message that he conveyed to the Iranian side on behalf of PM Narendra Modi and the government of India. Mr. Gadkari also shared several photographs from the visit on his social media handle on X (formerly Twitter).

“During Minister Nitin Gadkari’s interactions in Iran, both sides positively assessed the state of bilateral relations, including cooperation on the development of Chabahar Port. Both sides underscored that Chabahar Port would contribute to strengthening bilateral and regional trade. It would provide access to landlocked Afghanistan and central Asian countries to regional and global markets,” the Ministry of External Affairs informed after Mr. Gadkari had concluded the official engagements in Tehran. Apart from several Central Asian leaders, the swearing-in ceremony was also attended by Abdul Kabir, the Political Deputy of the ‘Prime Minister’ of the Taliban administration in Kabul.

The swearing-in ceremony which came after months of fast paced domestic and regional developments that saw the death of Iran’s previous President Ebrahim Raesi in a helicopter crash and escalating tension with Israel, displayed Iran’s regional and global relationships. Among the many attendees who posed in a group photograph with Mr. Gadkari and President Pezeshkian were Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the head of Islamic Jihad Ziyad al-Nakhalah. Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement was represented by the group’s deputy secretary general Naim Qassem while the Yemen’s Houthi rebels sent spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam.

Iran faced a national tragedy earlier this year when a helicopter carrying the previous President Ebrahim Raesi and Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian crashed in the remote western part of the country on May 20. President Pezeshkian was elected in the June 28-July 5 election after he defeated conservative candidate Saeed Jalili.  President Pezeshkian hit the headlines soon after swearing-in as he held a one on one meeting with Hamas chief Haniyeh in Tehran.