Chabahar port

Chabahar port, which is being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan, is located in south Iran on the Gulf of Oman.
Pakistan’s Gwadar port is about 70 kilometers to the west along the coast.
Afghanistan is connected to the chabahar port through its land border with Iran, and India via the sea.
Thus, the port is readily accessible for all three countries and acts to facilitate trade among them.

In 2003, India, Afghanistan and Iran, under the North-South Transport Corridor framework, signed the Chabahar port agreement, allowing all three countries to utilize the Chabahar port as a trade hub.
The first phase of Chabahar port was inaugurated in December 2017.

It is an important pillar of Indian foreign policy aimed at finding shorter routes for its exports and imports, countering China’s influence in the Indian Ocean region, and circumventing Pakistan’s Gwadar port.
Chabahar is the only port outside of Pakistan that connects Afghanistan to the sea.
The port will also connect India to Central Asian countries that are also major energy producers in the region.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Ports and Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently said that India wants Chabahar port to be included in the 13-nation International North South Transport Corridor, and expand INSTC membership by including Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

INSTC is a land-and sea-based 7,200-km long network comprising rail, road and water routes that are aimed at reducing costs and travel time for freight transport in a bid to boost trade between Russia, Iran, Central Asia, India and Europe.
It is a joint initiative taken by India, Russia and Iran.
The ‘Inter-Governmental Agreement on International “North-South” Transport Corridor’ was signed by the three countries in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2000.
Since then, 11 more nations have joined the project: Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz republic, Tajikistan, Oman, Syria and Ukraine.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-pushes-for-chabahar-in-india-iran-russia-instc-corridor/article33988009.ece

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