Lifting of global sanctions on Iran has opened up enormous opportunities, and India is looking forward to expanding cooperation with the Persian Gulf nation in sectors such as trade, investment, infrastructure and energy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
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“We have agreed to consult closely and regularly on combating threats of terrorism, radicalism, drug trafficking and cyber crime”, Modi said while addressing a joint press conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani after the two held one-on-one talks.
A historic deal to develop the Chabahar port in Iran, which will open up access to central Asia, was signed here on Monday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The visit will highlight the deepening of the US-India relationship in key areas since the President’s visit to New Delhi in January 2015.
Soon after his arrival, Mr. Modi visited the Bhai Ganga Singh Gurdwara in Tehran and paid his respects there. “The Chabahar port can serve as a point of connectivity between different countries, specially India and Afghanistan”, as reported by TOI.
Visiting Iran a great privilege for me.
During the western sanctions era, China become Iran’s biggest trading partner and top source of capital and investment.
The development of the port of Chabahar expands a trade route for the land-locked countries of central Asia that bypasses Pakistan.
The LEMOA, which is known as Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) in United States, will enable the military of both countries to use each other’s military bases, naval warships and fighter jets. “I also hope my Iran visit further cements cultural and people-to-people ties between India and Iran”, he tweeted after landing in Iran.
Thereafter, a trilateral agreement on transport and transit corridor among India, Afghanistan and Iran will be signed at a separate event on the same day. “Outcomes and agreements signed today open a new chapter in our strategic partnership”, he added.
India may invest as much as billion in Iran’s energy industry and ports and boost imports of crude from the Persian Gulf nation if it gets favorable terms, India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Bloomberg in an interview in April.
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The prime minister, who arrived in Tehran on Sunday evening, was accorded a ceremonial welcome on Monday morning.
