India, Iran agree to make transit and trade the core of bilateral relations

Iran on Saturday joined hands with India to promote connectivity through the port of Chabahar and asked the United States to respect territorial sovereignty.

Welcoming the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged for closer cooperation in the fields of energy, banking and countering terrorism.

Common views on issues

“On important bilateral and international issues, we have no divergence. Today, we discussed our agreements and the future course of action on Chabahar and India’s contribution to the Chabahar-Zahedan railways,” said President Rouhani in his speech at the end of bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi and official delegates.

Both sides agreed on making transit and trade the core of bilateral ties and emphasised the role of Chabahar in serving as a door to the landlocked Afghanistan.

Mr. Modi described Chabahar as the “golden gateway to Afghanistan and the Central Asian region.”

Expressing a common resolve to go ahead with developing the area around the port of Chabahar, a joint statement at the end of the visit said, “The Iranian side welcomed the investment of the Indian side in setting up plants in sectors such as fertilizers, petrochemicals and metallurgy in the Chabahar FTZ.”

“Might is not the criterion to be right as there are other criteria also. Our destiny was in the hands of the U.S. for a long period of time,” said President Rouhani, addressing the Observer Research Foundation. “The U.S. made a promise to us and they have broken it. If it violates this agreement (n-deal), you will see it will regret it,” he added.