He also met with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who raised the issue of nine Indian sailors in Iran.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj articulated India’s concerns over the re-emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan when they met visiting Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif today, officials confirmed to The Telegraph.
Sushma Swaraj said she asked Zarif to ensure that the $2.9-million fine imposed on the nine sailors was waived and they were released early.
New Delhi is also discussing with Tehran ways to clear payment for crude oil India imported from Iran in the past years.
India and Iran propose to explore entire gambit of economic and strategic relations in the aftermath of the US and European Union agreeing to lift sanctions against Tehran.
Modi also congratulated Iran for reaching a nuclear agreement with China, France, Russia, U.K., U.S. and Germany, and hoped the deal would contribute to greater peace and stability in the Middle East.
India is likely to fast track work on the phase two of Chabahar port in southeast Iran, which promises to open up an alternate route to landlocked Afghanistan circumventing Pakistan. He said India is an important player in West Asia and can play a leading role in the region.
Zarif conveyed that Iran considered India its strategic partner and can not forget the support India extended to Iran during its hard times. During his meeting with PM Modi, President Rouhani had sought Indian investments of almost United States dollars eight billion in infrastructure sector in Iran. Prime Minister agreed to visit Iran at mutually convenient dates to be decided through diplomatic channels.
During his meeting with Gadkari, the issue of Chabahar port came up.
An MoU was signed between India and Iran for development and operation of two terminals at Chabahar Port, in May, 2015 and discussions are on for concluding the agreement/contract between the organisations of the two governments.
In this context, there was a discussion on Farzad B gas field in the Persian Gulf.
“We want Iran to regain its share of India’s oil imports and we expect Iran to also make efforts to help promote participation of Indian companies”, Swarup said.
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The Indian Prime Minister pointed to his meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the Russian city of Ufa on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and quoted him as saying that Iran is also determined to bolster ties with India. Proposals were also made to move ahead rapidly on a Preferential Trading Agreement, and a Business-to-Business platform.
