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    Chabahar Port Details, Importance and Geopolitical Aspect - Shabbir

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    Shabbir Ahmed

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    Chabahar Port Details, Importance and Geopolitical Aspect - Shabbir

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    Shabbir Ahmed
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    Chabahar Port Details, Importance and Geopolitical Aspect_ Shabbir

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    14 views3 pages

    Chabahar Port Details, Importance and Geopolitical Aspect - Shabbir

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    Shabbir Ahmed

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3

    Why Chabahar port, seen as counter to

    Pakistan's Gwadar, matters to India


    Two decades since the Chabahar project was first proposed during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee
    regime, India signed a deal with Iran to operate the port. However, Chabahar is more than just
    a port for India and holds both commercial and strategic potential.
    In Short
    • India signs 10-year deal with Iran to operate Iran's Chabahar port
    • Development comes two decades since the project was first proposed
    • Port will give India a transit route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan

    "Once we make up our mind, the distance between Kashi and Kashan (a city in Iran) is only
    half a step," Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted a couplet of poet Ghalib in 2016 after India
    signed a historic deal to develop the strategic Chabahar port in Iran.
    Eight years later and two decades since the project was first proposed during the Atal Bihari
    Vajpayee regime, India signed a deal with Iran to operate the strategically important port that
    is close to Iran's border with Pakistan and its Gwadar port.
    The pact, which marks India's first instance of managing a foreign port, will enable the
    operation of the Shahid Beheshti terminal at the Chabahar port. There is another terminal
    named Shahid Kalantari, which was developed in the 1980s.
    However, the signing of the deal has irked the United States. The US has warned India of
    "potential risk of sanctions" for doing business with Iran.
    In fact, such sanctions by the West against Iran over its nuclear programme has been one of the
    major reasons that has stalled the development of the port that will give India a transit route to
    Afghanistan and Central Asia by bypassing Pakistan. Besides, the port is also being seen as
    India's counter to Pakistan's Gwadar port, where China has invested heavily.

    WHY CHABAHAR PORT PROJECT GOT DELAYED


    Despite the project being conceived in 2003, it only gathered pace in 2015 after Iran and the
    P5+1 nations (UK, China, France, Germany, Russia, US) reached a deal to limit the Iranian
    nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
    The project received a much-needed boost in May 2016 when India, Iran and Afghanistan
    signed a tripartite agreement in Tehran to build a transport-and-trade corridor through the
    Chabahar port. At the event, Narendra Modi, who became the first Indian Prime Minister to
    visit Iran in 15 years, also announced a plan to invest $500 million towards the project.
    A year later, the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran. However, India managed
    a diplomatic win after the then Donald Trump administration exempted India from sanctions
    as the port was considered critical due to its easy access to Afghanistan.
    In 2018, the government-backed India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) took over minor operations
    at the Chabahar port, like handling container traffic and cargo, following the signing of a short-
    term contract between India and Iran.
    In the six years since then, the Chabahar port has handled more than 90,000 vessels carrying
    cargo of more than 8.4 million tonnes. India has also supplied 2.5 million tonnes of wheat and
    2,000 tonnes of pulses to Afghanistan through the port.

    WHY CHABAHAR'S LOCATION HOLDS STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE?


    Chabahar, a Persian word that means "four springs", was described by 10th century Iranian
    scholar Al Biruni as the entry point to the subcontinent.
    Earlier this year, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi called Chabahar port the "golden gateway" for
    countries in the Indian Ocean region to Central Asia.
    The deep-water port (which can handle very large and heavily loaded ships) is located on the
    Makran Coast of Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province. It is next to the Gulf of Oman and at the
    mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital shipping route linking the Middle East to
    markets in Asia, Europe, and North America.
    Moreover, Chabahar is the only Iranian port with direct access to the Indian Ocean.
    In India's context, the port is closer to Gujarat on the west coast. Even from Mumbai, it is just
    768 nautical miles away.
    "The distance between Kandla (a port in Gujarat) and the Chabahar port is less than the distance
    between New Delhi and Mumbai," Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had said in Tehran
    in 2016 during the signing of the agreement.
    Moreover, Pakistan's Gwadar port, in which China has invested heavily, is just 170 km east of
    Chabahar. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor originates from the Gwadar port.

    WHY CHABAHAR PORT MATTERS TO INDIA?


    Chabahar is more than just a "port of call" for India and holds both commercial and strategic
    potential.
    The foremost significance is a seamless transit route for Indian goods and products to
    Afghanistan by avoiding the land route through Pakistan. India has previously accused Pakistan
    of deliberately delaying the transit of goods through Karachi to Afghanistan.
    From Chabahar port, a road network goes up to Zaranj in Afghanistan. From there, the 218-km
    Zaranj-Delaram road, constructed with India's assistance, will give access to four major cities
    - Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif.
    The port, once fully operational, will also give India direct access to resource-rich Central
    Asian countries like Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
    According to a report in Peninsula.org, the Chabahar port allows India to cut the time to send
    goods to Central Asian nations by a third.
    Besides, it will also connect the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that
    joins India and Russia via Iran. This is significant as India has substantially increased its energy
    trade with sanctions-hit Russia.
    Moreover, with the Gwadar port in Pakistan giving an increasingly assertive China access to
    the Arabian Sea, India can monitor its activities in the Persian Gulf through Chabahar. China
    has inked a deal for the operational control of Gwadar port for 40 years.
    The project will also help India counterbalance China as it expands its footprint across South
    Asia through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
    For Iran, the importance of the Chabahar project is two-fold. So far, Iran has only one port at
    Bandar Abbas that is not capable of hosting larger container vessels. The port will also bring
    development in the Sistan-Baluchestan region, which is Iran's least developed province.
    Moreover, with the Adani Group already operating the Haifa port in Israel, the Chabahar
    project will only enhance India's presence on the strategic route.

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