Baku, Azerbaijan, July 6
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have discussed expansion of bilateral ties over phone July 6, the Iranian presidential official website reported.
Congratulating President Rouhani on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, Modi said that India is determined to expand its cooperation with Iran in all fields.
He further commented on an agreement between the two countries to develop Iran’s southeastern port of Chabahar saying India will do its best to speed up the development project of Chabahar Port.
In his turn, President Rouhani said that Iran is ready to promote its relations with India to a strategic level.
President Rouhani further pledged to seriously follow up the project for developing Chabahar port.
Last year, India and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the port once the international sanctions against Iran were lifted, stipulating that India would lease two docks for a period of 10 years, a move expected to cut India's crude oil and carbamide transportation costs by one-third.
The sanctions against Tehran were removed in January as the historic nuclear deal between Tehran and the six world powers came into force.
India is expected to invest $20 billion in the development of the port.