India stands connected to Afghanistan via Chabahar Port of Iran

LAHORE: Afghanistan’s first shipment of goods, weighing about 570 tonnes, has finally been sent to India Sunday through Iran’s only oceanic port of Chabahar, which is situated on the Gulf of Oman since 1983.

This is the first time India would be operating a port outside its territory. The export goods were carried by 23 vehicles, according to renowned Indian newspaper “The Times of India” and the Zee Media Network’s pay television news channel, “World Is One” or WION.

A day earlier, Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani's spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri, was quoted by Indian media as saying that the convoy would leave for India from the border city of Zaranj in a ceremony that was expected to be attended by the Afghan head of state too.

Highlighting the importance of the port, the spokesman had asserted: “Chabahar Port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan. This will ensure enhanced connectivity and economic growth for the countries." Chabahar Port is a key trade port for Afghanistan, providing the landlocked country direct sea access.

It is noteworthy that it was the Chabahar Port, where arrested Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jhadav, had established a small business, and from where he made several undetected visits to Karachi and Balochistan. Pakistan had stated that Jadhav had entered Chabahar with a visa stamped on a fake passport numbered L9630722 in 2003, which thus gave him a new identity of Hussain Mubarak Patel hailing from Maharashtra, India.

In May 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan had agreed to establish a ‘Transit and Transport Corridor’ among the three countries using Chabahar Port as a regional hub for sea transportation. In February 2018, Iran had announced its decision to lease operational control of Chabahar to New Delhi for 18 months. The port’s commercial operations commenced on December 30, 2018, when “MV Macheras,” a Cyprus-registered vessel, had arrived here with over 72,458 metric tonnes of corn. Indian media outlets have stated: “India had taken over the operations of a part of Shahid Beheshti Port, Chabahar in Iran during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting that was held in December 2018. In 2017, India had sent 1.1 million tonnes of Wheat to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port. Pakistan has not been keen to allow an overland route for India Afghan trade, which makes Chabahar's emergence as a game changer.”

They have maintained: “On February 26, Iran will celebrate "Chabahar Day" in the city of Chabahar itself during which a number of conferences will take place to attract investors.” “The Economic Times,” another known Indian media house, has added: “The Chabahar port is being considered as a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries, besides ramping up trade among the three countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi. Under the agreement signed between India and Iran earlier, India is to equip and operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with capital investment of USD 85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of USD 22.95 million on a 10-year.”

Earlier, on October 29, 2017, a premier Indian newspaper “The Hindu” had reported: “India has begun shipment of wheat to Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chabahar. A press release from the Ministry of External Affairs noted that the consignment would be the first to use the new route via Chabahar to access Afghanistan, even as India plans similar transfers in the coming months. The statement said Sunday’s transfer was part of India’s commitment to send 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan on grant basis.”

Research shows that the Indian government has invested more than US$100 million in the expansion of the Chabahar Port in southeastern Iran for the transportation of transit goods. Besides as a goodwill gesture, India has also constructed a new Parliament complex for the Afghan government at a cost of US $ 115 million or Indian Rupees 7.10 billion.

According to the Afghanistan's ambassador to India in April 2017, New Delhi was the biggest regional donor to Kabul and fifth largest donor globally with over $3 billion in assistance. Research further shows that India has built over 200 public and private schools, besides sponsoring over 1,000 scholarships and hosting over 16,000 Afghan students.

By 2012, India had already invested $10.8 billion in Afghanistan. India currently operates an embassy in Kabul and consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-e-e-Sharif. On June 4, 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani had formally inaugurated the $290-million Salma Dam with a capacity of 42 MW power generation to help Afghanistan capitalize on opportunities that would open up once the India-backed Chabahar project, linking the port in Iran to Central Asia's road and railway networks, was completed. India, by the way, was the only South Asian country to recognize the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan during the 1980s. The bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan rests at US$900 million and with opening of air corridor, the two nations plan to take it to US$ 2 billion by 2020.

According to various Indian, Afghan and Iranian media houses, the three-way Memorandums of Understanding have committed at least $21 billion to Chabahar–Hajigak corridor, including $85million for Chabahar port development by India, $150 million line of credit by India to Iran,$8billion India-Iran MoU for Indian industrial investment in Chabahar Special Economic Zone, the $11-billion Hajigak iron and steel mining project awarded to seven Indian companies in central Afghanistan and India's $2 billion commitment to Afghanistan for developing supporting infrastructure including the Chabahar-Hajigaj railway, which has a potential for several times more trade via connectivity to 7,200-km-long multi-mode North-South Transport Corridor connecting to Europe, Turkey and numerous Central Asian states.