India has stepped up attempts efforts to bypass Pakistan for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia through the Chabahar Port in Iran

As part of these efforts, a virtual meeting was held last night of the trilateral working group between India, Iran and Uzbekistan on the joint use of the key port.

The meeting was jointly chaired by Sanjeev Ranjan, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Ali Akbar Safaei, Secretary, Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran; and Abdossamad Mumenof, Secretary,Ministry of Transportation of Uzbekistan.

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During the meeting, the Indian side made a presentation on the operations of the Chabahar Port and informed that the Indian company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), through its wholly owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), took over the operations of the port on 24 December 2018. Since then, it has handled 160 vessels, 14,420 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and 3.2 million tonnes of bulk and general cargo. The Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port has handled shipments and trans-shipments from various countries, including Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Ukraine, Oman, Romania, Bangladesh, Australia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan and UAE.

The participants underlined the important role played by Chabahar Port during humanitarian crises as well as in enhancing regional connectivity. They also took note of the increase in transit traffic between Central Asia and South Asia through the Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port and discussed further development of the transportation corridor.

At the invitation of the Iranian side, the Indian side agreed to send a high level delegation to Chabahar next year, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

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