About 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 2017.

Strategic significance of the Chabahar port

• 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. 

Why in News?

• The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal paid a visit to the Shahid Behestti port at Chabahar in Iran to review the progress in the development of the port.

Reference

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1853334