Reacting to Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zarif’s invitation to Pakistan and China to join the Chabahar Port project, India on…
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani inaugurates first-phase of Chabahar port. (Photo: Twitter)
Reacting to Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zarif’s invitation to Pakistan and China to join the Chabahar Port project, India on Thursday said it was entirely up to Tehran to choose its partners for the development of the infrastructure facilities at the port.
‘’As you are aware, India is supporting the development of Chahbahar Port as a robust and alternate access route to and for Afghanistan and Central Asia,’’ External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing when asked for his reaction to the Iranian minister’s statement in Islamabad.
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He noted that significant progress had been made in operationalising the port. Shipment of wheat assistance to Afghanistan through Chahbahar was being successfully carried out since October last year. Four such shipments have been successfully delivered. Next shipment was scheduled to leave later this month.
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The spokesperson recalled that during the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to India last month, an agreement was signed with regard to interim operations of the Chabahar Port.
India’s assistance for building Chabahar-Zahedan Railway to realise the full potential of the port to connect to Afghanistan and Central Asia has also been discussed. ‘’We continue to work with Iran on the full and effective operationalisation of the Chabahar Port,’’ he added.
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