Chabahar Port Deal: India and Iran are likely to sign a deal over the management of the Chabahar port on Monday. Under the agreement, India will join hands with Iran to manage the Chabahar port for the next 10 years, according to a report by the Economic Times.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal will be visiting Iran for the crucial agreement. The Union minister boarded a special Indian Air Force flight for Iran on Monday, news agency ANI reported, citing sources.

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Chabahar Port Crucial For India

A part of the Chabahar port, located on the southeastern coast of Iran, is being developed by India for transporting goods to Iran, Afghanistan and central Asian countries. The port, along the Gulf of Oman, is crucial for India as it would provide a shorter route to central Asian nations.

The Chabahar port would also allow India to avoid the port of Karachi in Pakistan. The Chabahar port's development has, however, been slowed down due to US sanctions.

Earlier this January, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Iran President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran. The two leaders agreed on expediting the implementation of Iran-India agreements, including the Chabahar Port Development Plan, and further compensating for delays.

International North-South Transport Corridor

India plans to build the Chabahar Port into a transit hub which would help India reach out to CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries. The plan to develop Chabahar port falls under the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a transport route envisioned by India to economise the movement of cargo between India and Central Asia. The Chabahar Port would act as a commercial transit centre for the region.

A multi-modal transportation route, the INSTC links the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and onward to northern Europe via St Petersburg in Russia.

The INSTC envisages the movement of goods from Mumbai to the Shahid Beheshti Port - Chabahar (Iran) by sea, from Chabahar to Bandar-e-Anzali (an Iranian port on the Caspian Sea) by road, and then from Bandar-e-Anzali to Astrakhan (a Caspian port in the Russian Federation) by ship across the Caspian Sea, and after that from Astrakhan to other regions of the Russian Federation and further into Europe by Russian railways.

(With inputs from ANI)