India, Iran and Uzbekistan to hold talks today on joint use of Chabahar port

India, Iran and Uzbekistan will hold the First Trilateral Working Group Meeting today on the joint use of the strategically located Chabahar port. The announcement regarding the meeting was made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The Meeting will be jointly chaired at Secretary Level by India and at Deputy Minister level by Iran and Uzbekistan. 

India welcomes Uzbekistan's interest to use Chabahar port

•India welcomed Uzbekistan's interest to use Chabahar port as a transit port. 

•The move will open up economic opportunities for traders and business community of the region.

•Other Central Asian countries have also reportedly shown interest in using the port.

•India aims to cooperate closely with regional countries on the issue.

Chabahar port 

•The Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties between the  three nations bypassing Pakistan.

•The port is situated on the energy-rich southern coast of Iran's Sistan-Balochistan province and can be easily accessed from India's western coast.

•The port is being considered as one of the major transit points to connect with several Central Asian countries.

Background

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his virtual summit with Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had discussed ways to speed up connectivity projects linking Central Asia.

India has invited Uzbekistan to participate in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project. The project is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project, which will enable freight movement between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.