India hopes to open Iran's Chabahar port by 2019
Monday, 25 June 2018
NEW DELHI, June 24 (Reuters): India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019, the government said in a statement.
New Delhi made the announcement despite a threat of renewed US sanctions against Tehran.
The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan.
The new corridor could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut Afghanistan's dependence on Pakistan, India's sometimes-hostile neighbour.
The port would offer easy accessibility to the countries of Commonwealth of Independence States (CIS), Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said in the statement.
US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear deal and penalise financial institutions for doing business with Tehran is clouding Chabahar's viability.