In an effort to further deepen regional cooperation India, Iran and Armenia held the first trilateral political consultation between the foreign affairs ministries in Yerevan capital city of Armenia. This trilateral grouping is expected to open up opportunities in different areas for cooperation including energy, transportation, trade, investment and transportation.
The grouping of three have all agreed to continue consultations in the format and the first ever meeting which took place on Thursday focused on connectivity especially the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) which was initially signed by Iran, Russia and India in 2002 and has since then expanded, and a freight corridor connecting which is expected to connect three countries — India, Iran and Russia. The main aim of this corridor is to reduce time and costs in the movement of goods from Mumbai to Moscow.
Also Read: EAM Jaishankar co-chairs 4th India-CARICOM ministerial meeting with Jamaican counterpart and others
Who all were present during talks?
While the deputy foreign minister of Armenia Mnatsakan Safaryan led his delegation, JP Singh, the joint secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, the assistant of the foreign minister of Iran led their delegations.
According to a readout from the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, the focus of the three sides during the meeting was on economic issues and regional communication channels. And they also talked about trilateral cooperation in various fields as well as further deepening of people to people and cultural contacts.
Relations between the three countries
The three countries have robust bilateral relations and in recent months there have been high level engagement. It has been reported earlier that both foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan (March 2023) and defence minister Suren Papikyan (April 2022) of Armenia have visited India. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has visited Armenia in October 2021.
Also Read: Forward Sustainment Bases (FSBs): An inescapable necessity
Both India and Iran share common heritage. The Iran based Chabahar Port has been key to connectivity between the two countries. It has been reported earlier that India has provided equipment for the development of the port worth almost USD 25 million including six mobile harbour cranes. For India this port has the potential to serve as a gateway to access Central Asia and Afghanistan and for Iran this provides an alternate trade route to the Persian Gulf.
Iran which has become a full fledged member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will be present during the grouping’s summit in July this year under India’s presidency.
As far as Iran and Armenia are concerned – they share a border and enjoy robust ties. According to information in public domain last year Iran had opened a consulate in Kapan, Armenia. And the two countries have been focusing on deepening their trade and economic cooperation.
