Full Scale operations at Iran’s Chabahar port may boost India’s export.

Come May, India expects to commence the long impending trade activities at Iran’s Chabahar general cargo port at its full capacity which will facilitate seamless movement of goods bypassing Pakistan.

It has been a long overhaul since India started developing a portion of Iran’s south-eastern coast along the Gulf of Oman at Shahid Beheshti complex under an agreement signed with Iran which would run the terminal for 10 years. It serves the way to transport goods to Iran, Afghanistan and central Asian countries, and avoiding the passage that passes through Pakistan.

There is a range of handmade articles which India exports to Iran such as Textiles, Yarn, home furnishing delicacies, handloom cloth Cotton, cotton twists yarns, knitted garments and other agricultural products.

Earlier the sanctions imposed by the United States stalled the activities at the port’s development but now under new administration Indian officials are now counting on the reconciliations between Washington and Tehran with the plans of nearly $500 million of investments.

Chabahar port had handled 123 vessels and 1.8 million tonnes of bulk and general cargoes from February 2019 to January 2021.

Plan to include Chabahar port in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)- connecting Mumbai with Moscow has also been discussed in a recent virtual summit on the Chabahar port.

Cover image by Vifindia