India, Iran, Afghanistan Finalize Chabahar Port Agreement

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India, Iran, and Afghanistan have finalized the parameters of a trilateral agreement known as the
Chabahar Agreement, which will allow India access to Afghanistan via the strategically located
Iranian port of Chabahar, which sits on the Gulf of Oman. The Chabahar route to Afghanistan
will allow Indian goods to reach Afghanistan without having to first bypass Pakistan, which has a
limited trade relationship with New Delhi due to diplomatic tensions and a territorial dispute
between the two countries.
According to Indias Ministry of External Affairs, the agreement will significantly enhance
utilisation of Chabahar Port, contribute to economic growth of Afghanistan and facilitate better
regional connectivity, including between India and connections to Afghanistan and central Asia.
It added that the agreement will be a strategic bulwark for greater flow of people and goods
among the three countries, as well as in the region.
Swaraj and Zarif additionally discussed an accompanying project: the railway link along the
Chabahar-Zahedan-Mashhad route, connecting the Iranian port with the Iranian cities of
Zahedan and Masshhad, along the countrys eastern border. The completed railway will extend
1,380 kilometers. India will supply $400 million of steel rails for the railway link.
Over a Decade in the Making
India and Iran had first broached the idea of Indian access to Chabahar in 2003, when they
agreed to jointly develop the port. In part due to increased Western sanctions against Iran over
its nuclear program and Indias rapprochement with the United States following the landmark
2005 framework between the two countries, the development of Chabahar stagnated on the
India-Iran agenda.
Last year, in May 2015, two months before world powers and Iran announced the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action on Irans nuclear program, Indian Transportation Minister Nitin
Gadkari visited Iran to sign a memorandum of understanding on Chabahar. Last week, ahead of
Swarajs visit to Iran, representatives from Iran, Afghanistan, and India met in New Delhi to
finalize a draft of the Chabahar agreement.
The finalization of the Chabahar agreement is not only an important development in the IndiaIran relationship, but it also shows that New Delhi is serious on delivering on its commitments in
Afghanistan. In December 2015, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Afghanistan,

he and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed Chabahar and urged a conclusion of a final
agreement.
The increase in connectivity afforded by the port could allow Afghan exports cheaper access to
markets in India. Currently, an overwhelming amount of Afghan manufactured goods travel
through Karachi, Pakistan. In February 2016, Afghan officials said that Afghan exports through
Karachi had declined 40 percent amid political tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
it even provide connectivity of india with russia and europe bypassing pakistan.