China wants to play role in Chabahar project: Iran

China is also interested in participating in the development of Iran’s Chabahar port, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif said Friday, adding Iran had made it clear to both India and China that “Chabahar is open to cooperation for everybody”, and that “Chabahar is not against China or Gwadar port” (in Pakistan’s nearby Balochistan province that China is developing). These developments are bound to add to worry for India, which has been developing Chabahar port, and shows that Beijing is also keenly eyeing it. The Chabahar port gives India sea-land connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing the land route via Pakistan. New Delhi is also watching the increasingly close ties between Beijing and Tehran with concern.

In an online panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue, the Iran foreign minister said: “We have made it clear to our Indian and Chinese friends that Chabahar is open to cooperation

■ Continued from Page 1 for everybody. Chabahar is not against China, not against Gwadar. Chabahar is a place where we can all come together to help Afghanistan. India is playing an active role in Chabahar. The Chinese are interested in playing a role elsewhere in Iran and also in Chabahar.”

It may be recalled India had just last month suggested the inclusion of Chabahar in the International North-South Transit Corridor route. This is an important initiative taken by India, Russia and Iran to promote transportation cooperation and to enhance connectivity with Central Asian countries. INSTC is the “shortest multimodal transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf via Iran to Russia and North Europe”.

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar had said last month: “The INSTC is an important trade corridor project, wherein India is partnering with 12 countries to establish an economic corridor for the benefit of our peoples. We also welcome the interest of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to join the multilateral corridor project. Establishing an eastern corridor through Afghanistan would maximise its potential. India has proposed the inclusion of Chabahar in the INSTC route.”

It may be recalled that in a major boost to Indian strategic interests last December, India had announced that “besides Uzbekistan, other Central Asian countries have also shown interest in using Chabahar port”.