New Delhi: NSA Ajit Doval and his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani on Monday held wide-ranging talks in Tehran focusing on the development of Chabahar port, the situation in Afghanistan and bilateral trade-economic engagement. The National Security Advisor was on a day-long visit to Iran.
In the talks, Shamkhani favoured activating the Rupee-Rial mechanism between the two countries for trade, saying it is necessary for advancing shared goals in various economic fields, according to Iran's state-run news agency IRNA. Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, noted in the meeting that Iran-India ties are not against any other country and that global and regional developments have created a ground for strengthening the relations, it said.
He identified energy, transportation, technology and banking as areas for bilateral cooperation. There was no official word on Doval's visit by either India or Iran. The two officials discussed economic, political and security issues concerning the two countries as well as the most important regional and international developments, the report said. According to IRNA, Doval said India considers Chabahar Port as a gateway to increase its cooperation with Iran, adding New Delhi is ready to increase consultations to resolve existing issues.
The NSA also noted that India is for a responsible and inclusive government in Afghanistan. Doval's visit to Iran comes ahead of a foreign ministerial meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Goa this week. India is the current chair of the SCO and Iran is set to be made a permanent member of the grouping at its annual summit later this year. The implementation of the Chabahar Port project in Iran is a key focus area in the bilateral ties between New Delhi and Tehran.
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Recently, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi strongly pitched for faster implementation of the Chabahar port project as well as the use of the facility by India to send various shipments saying the key transit hub will benefit both countries. He also said that there is a need to look at the Chabahar project beyond economic perspectives. ocated in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost connectivity and trade ties.
At a connectivity conference in Tashkent in 2021, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar projected the Chabahar port as a key regional transit hub. Elahi had also sought the resumption of import of crude oil by India from Iran citing New Delhi not succumbing under pressure by the Western powers to not continue procurement of petroleum products from Russia following the Ukraine crisis. India stopped procurement of crude oil from Iran after the US did not continue with sanction waivers to India and several other countries. (PTI)
