CPEC, Chabahar not rivals: Ex-Iran minister

Former Iran foreign minister Kamal Kharazi has said that the perception in Pakistan that Iran’s Chabahar Port project, that connects India to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, is a “rival project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)”, is not correct.

“The Chabahar Port project is aimed at connecting Iran with Central Asia, and the ultimate goal is to uplift the Iranian economy,” Kharazi said at an event here.

India, Iran and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement in 2016 to jointly develop the Chabahar Port, opening a new strategic transit route between the three nations and other Central Asian nations, bypassing Pakistan.

The CPEC connects China’s Kashgar in Xinjiang province with Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Balochistan through a network of roads, railways and highways.

Kharazi said that though it was true that India had invested in the Chabahar project, it was an open platform for all regional countries to participate in. “While we are engaging with India on the economic front and India is investing in Chabahar, we have not given exclusive rights on the project to them,” he said.

Talking about Kashmir, Kharazi said Iran had urged India to resolve the issue with Pakistan in “a peaceful and justly manner” and said Tehran was willing to mediate between the two. IANS

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