In a big boost to regional connectivity, Afghanistan will formally start sending goods to India from the Chabahar port in Iran from Sunday. Afghan president Ashraf Ghani along with Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, Vinay Kumar, will be present at the event in the western Afghan city of Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz province bordering Iran.
Confirming the development, President Ghani's spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri said, "The first trade convoy will involve 23 trucks carrying 570 tonnes of goods. The convoy will leave for India from the border city of Zaranj in a ceremony which will be attended by President Ashraf Ghani."
Highlighting the importance of the port while speaking from Kabul, he said, "Chabahar Port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran, and Afghanistan. This will ensure enhanced connectivity and economic growth for the countries."
Without naming any country in the region, he added, "Other countries in the region should utilise the economic potentials of regional projects and enhance state-to-state cooperation instead of having illegal relations with non-state actors."
Last month on January 27, India had formally established shipping lanes with the port by sending ships. It has also already been decided that every two weeks, Indian ships will be dispatched from three Indian ports — Mumbai, Kandla and Mundra.
Meanwhile, commercial operations at the port began on December 30 last year with the arrival of MV Macheras, a Cyprus-registered bulk carrier with 72,458 MT of corn cargo.
India took over the operations of a part of Shahid Beheshti Port, Chabahar in Iran during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting that was held on December 24, 2018. In 2017, India sent 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port.
India has been focusing on connecting with Afghanistan, which is a landlocked country. Other than Chabahar, India also has an air corridor with Afghanistan.
