Ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday highlighted India’s commitment to developing the Chabahar port in Iran.
On a three-day visit to Iran and the UAE, the minister visited the Chabahar port to review its development and also handed over six mobile harbour cranes to Indian Ports Global Chabahar Free Trade Zone (IPGCFTZ), the company operating the port.
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“India remains fully committed to developing the Chabahar port to realise the vision set during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiji’s visit to Iran in 2016. The inauguration of the six mobile harbour cranes would act as a force multiplier for the operation of the Shahid Behesti Port and further fuel impetus to the development of the Chabahar port,” he said during the occasion.
The strategic role of Chabahar port to unlock trade potential in the regional trade between Central Asia, South Asia & South East Asia is huge, he said, adding that India was continuously working towards making the International North South Transport Corridor as the preferred route of trade between the two regions.
Since India Ports Global Pvt Ltd (IPGPL) assumed operations of Shahid Beheshti Port, it has handled over 4.8 million tonnes of bulk cargo.
The trans-shipment of goods was from varied countries including Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Germany, Oman, Romania, Russia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ukraine and Uzbekistan, the ministry said in a statement.