Iran, Afghanistan, India intend to create transit corridor
By Vusala Abbasova
Iran, Afghanistan and India intend to create an international transportation route that they have dubbed the Chabahar transit corridor, in order to expand the mutual cooperation between the countries and consolidate their ties in various fields.
During yesterday’s meeting at the Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (RMTO), the representatives of the three neighboring countries underlined the vital importance of increasing road transportation as part of the Chabahar agreement.
The director of the Transit and Border Terminals of Iran's Road Maintenance and Transport Organization, Mohammad Javad Atrchian, emphasized the role of road transportation in boosting trilateral trade volume.
They therefore mentioned that the signing of the Chabahar agreement holds great importance in the prompt creation of the international transport and transit corridor, which will expand regional trade between the three countries.
Along with other international corridors -- the North-South ITC, the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran road corridor, and the so-called Ashgabat agreement on international transportation signed by Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Oman -- the construction of the Iran-India-Afghanistan international transit corridor will not only promote the development of regional trade, but also will be an important historical event, Atrchian said.
Earlier, India and Iran discussed the possibility of developing the Chabahar port, which will give India access to Afghanistan by sea bypassing Pakistan.
The port will be connected to Zahedan on the Iran-Afghan border through a railway line, which will also be built by Indian construction company IRCON.
The port will be also used to ship crude oil and urea, cutting transport costs and freight time from India to Central Asia and the Gulf by about a third.
The Chabahar port in southeastern Iran is to be developed using an $85 million dollars worth of equipment that will be owned by the two sides. A multi-purpose cargo and container terminal is to be developed at the port.
India, the world's fourth-largest petroleum consumer, is Iran's second largest oil customer after China, and purchases around $12 billion worth of Iranian crude every year, about 12 percent of its domestic consumption.
Iran is a rich country in terms of natural resources, and India has made great advancements in agriculture and the computer industry.
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