Tehran, Iran, Oct. 7
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
President of Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) SC Ralhan said the reason for India's delay in investing in Iran's Chabahar Port is recent changes in Indian government.
Noting a 13 percent decrease in the purchase of Iran's oil and gas, Ralhan said the Indian government is planning to assign $100 million to projects in the Iranian port city, ISNA news agency reported Oct. 7.
From April 2014 to March 2015, India bought worth $8.9 billion oil and gas from Iran, showing a decline of 13 percent compared to the same period of the preceding year.
The official said the reason for the decrease is that oil prices dropped in the mentioned period.
Pointing to oil-goods barter between the the two countries, he said India has exported worth $4.2 billion goods, including sugar, cereals, drugs, etc.
He added by investing in Chabahar, India is planning to boost its trade not only with Iran, but also with Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The port of Chabahar in southeast Iran is central to India's efforts to circumvent arch-rival Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where it has developed close security ties and economic interests.
The port can also serve as a gateway to the resource-rich countries of Central Asia.
In May, Indian Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, signed an $85 million deal for India to lease two existing berths at the port and use them as multi-purpose cargo terminals.
With the easing of sanctions New Delhi is hoping for a greater and stronger role in Iran's development by taking up projects including building urea and petrochemical projects using gas produced in the OPEC-member nation.
Edited by CN