India delivers 2 cranes to Chabahar port

In its latest bid to develop the Irans Chabahar port project, India delivered two 140-ton cranes for loading and unloading equipment to the Iranian government on Sunday.

The cranes, part of a full load of six Mobile Harbor (MHC) cranes worth about $ 25 million were taken from Italy and officially released at a ceremony in Chabahars port Shahid Beheshti after official talks between India and Iran.

India’s plans to further invest in the port project are seen as an indication that the government expects a easing of US sanctions in the coming months as the new Biden administration begins to address its re-entry policy in the Iran nuclear deal. The sources indicated Hindu that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA) will also hold a quadrilateral meeting in Delhi with officials from Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and another Central Asian country as observers to discuss the Chabahar connection and trade transit opportunities.

We are happy to supply Chabahar port with two cranes. This could solve some of the problems in loading and unloading cargo, said MEA Joint Secretary for Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan JP Singh, according to Iranian news agencies. He also stressed that the port has been able to handle 75,000 tonnes of wheat donated from India to Afghanistan so far, along with other operations.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the MEA delegation had also held political consultations with their Iranian counterparts.

Recent international and regional developments attach special importance to this round of general political dialogue, Foreign Ministry official Rasoul Mousavi wrote on Twitter, indicating that a possible change in Iran’s US policy was discussed.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Transport and Ports said the handover of the cranes shows India’s commitment to strategically linking the Chabahar port project that will provide access to markets in Central Asia, explaining that the shipment was part of a bilateral contract. between India and Iran signed in May 2016 for $ 85 million to equip and operate the port.

The visit by MEA delegations comes a month after transport officials from India, Iran and Uzbekistan held the first Meeting of the Trilateral Working Group on the shared use of Chabahar Port. Sources said India has now proposed some dates for a quadrilateral meeting, which will also bring talks to Afghanistan later this year, and is awaiting confirmations from all parties.

According to sources, the focus of the meeting will be the rapid pursuit of regional economic integration as well as the promotion of the common goal of promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and the entire region. The four countries could also discuss a mechanism or secretariat to deal with the joint Chabahar project in the future.

The delivery of the cranes comes after several delays due to the impact of US sanctions on various parts of the Chabahar project, which have slowed down both equipment procurement and banking and insurance arrangements for infrastructure development, although India has waived a waiver. from sanctions by Washington on the development of Chabahar port.

Last July, Hindu had reported that after waiting for a response for months, the Iranian government decided to abandon India from its plans to jointly develop the railway line from Chabahar to Zahedan near the border with Afghanistan in July last year and complete the project with me. Iran has also operationalized a second railway line in Afghanistan, connecting Khaf with Herat. In November, Irans Port and the Maritime Organization wrote to the Modi government requesting cranes, locomotives, rails and signaling device keys, as these remain difficult for Iran to access directly.