PM Modi's Iran Visit Paves Way for the Signing of 'Historic' Chabahar Treaty

BENGALURU: Ever since Narendra Modi became the 15^th Prime Minister of the country, he has constantly tried to reach out to the leaders of other countries to lure-in foreign investors into India with the idea of developing the country. His recent two-day visit to Iran can be seen in that light as he became the first Prime Minister to visit Iran in the past 15 years. During the visit, both the countries inked a number of deals that would help in strengthening ties between the nations in various fields. Some key takeaways of Modi’s visit to Iran are as follows:

The long due Chabahar project was finally inked. India, Iran and Afghanistan signed the ‘historic’ trilateral trade treaty for developing the Chabahar port. As part of the deal, India would be spending $500 Million for the development of the port. The agreement is seen as an important one because of the port’s strategic importance. The development of the port allows India in gaining a foothold in Iran as well as opening up alternate routes to Afghanistan, Russia and Europe without needing to go through Pakistan. The move is also seen as a countering one to China’s growing influence in the development of Pakistan's Gwadar port located some 100 kilometers away from Chabahar port.

Apart from the Chabahar port deal, there were some other prominent treaties such as the construction of a smelter by India’s National Aluminium Company, investment in an Iran-Afghanistan rail line by Indian state-run engineering company IRCON. Several other MoUs regarding strategic and cultural exchanges such as India-Iran Cultural Exchange Programme, MoU between Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Islamic Culture and Relations Organizations of the IR Iran were signed. MoU for cooperation between the National Archives of India and the National Library and Archives Organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran was also penned to facilitate exchange of information and knowledge in the field of archival matters.

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