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The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal affirmed India's commitment to unlocking the trade potential with the Central Asian region through the use of Chabahar Port in Iran.
Minister Sonowal on Sunday inaugurated the Chahabar Day conference in Mumbai. Chabahar is located in south-eastern Iran at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman and is blessed with an ideal strategic location connecting the Indian subcontinent with both Afghanistan as well as Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Sonowal urged all the representatives and stakeholders to come forward with suggestions to reduce the transportation time and cost further to make a cheaper, shorter, faster, and more reliable route from India to Iran and Central Asia. Dignitaries from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan were also present on the occasion. The Chabahar Port is a key pillar of India's India-Pacific vision to connect Eurasia with the Indian Ocean Region. The port will also be part International North-South Transport Corridor network connecting India. INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) is India's vision and initiative to reduce the time taken for EXIM shipments to reach Russia, Europe, and enter the central Asian markets. Minister Sonowal further interacted with the high-level diplomatic delegation from central Asian countries in Mumbai. On the occasion, Minister of State Shipping and Waterways Shreepad Naik said that India's mutual interest in developing ties with Central Asia is boosting economic activities in this land-locked region. "This infrastructure linkage will prosper the trade and bilateral relations between all these countries," Naik said. Deputy Head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) Jalil Eslami, during the event, said that Chahbahar port plays an important role in the economic development of India and Iran. Eslami said that Iran has given special incentives to increase trade cooperation activities between India and Iran through the Chabahar port. "We want to develop Chabahar port as a transit hub looking at its strategic location," Eslami added. (ANI)
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