India's plan to use Chabahar Port in Iran for connectivity to Central Asia gets support from Uzbekistan

India’s plan to use the Chabahar Port in Iran to step up its trade and economic engagement with Centra Asia bypassing Pakistan has now received support from Uzbekistan, which has proposed a trilateral initiative to promote connectivity through it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday welcomed Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s proposal for a trilateral dialogue involving his Central Asian nation, Iran and India. New Delhi and Tashkent are now set to discuss the proposal with Tehran. It will also add momentum to India’s effort to promote connectivity with other Central Asian nations through the port on the southwestern coast of Iran.

Mirziyoyev proposed the India-Iran-Uzbekistan trilateral initiative during a virtual summit with Modi on Friday. New Delhi and Tashkent signed nine pacts on the sideline of the summit, including one confirming $ 448 million of Line of Credit to be extended by India for four developmental projects in Uzbekistan in the fields of road construction, sewerage treatment and information technology.

Uzbekistan conveyed its desire to explore the possibility of implementing priority developmental projects as part of the $ 1 billion Line of Credit offered by India for Central Asian countries.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the Chabahar Port in the southeastern coast of Iran could be a “fulcrum of connectivity” between India and Uzbekistan as well as other Central Asian nations.

India also requested Uzbekistan to join the International North-South Transport Corridor, which would add to the overall improvement of connectivity in the larger Eurasia, according to a joint statement issued by the two sides after the summit.

India is participating in the development of the first phase of Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar in cooperation with Iran. The port opens up sea-land connectivity between India and Afghanistan as well as Central Asia and beyond, bypassing Pakistan. The India Ports Global Limited has taken over port operations at the Shaheed Beheshti Port in Chabahar in December 2018 and has been handling cargo since then. Afghanistan also started using the port facility to send its first export consignment to India early last year.

Though the sanctions the United States re-imposed on Iran since 2018 significantly curbed economic cooperation between India and the West Asian nation, New Delhi secured a waiver for continuing its role in developing and operating the Chabahar Port as it convinced President Donald Trump’s administration that the sea-land connectivity was important for continued supplies to Afghanistan as well as to provide the conflict-ravaged nation economic alternatives, without requiring to rely on Pakistan.

Pakistan has been blocking several connectivity initiatives in the region, particularly the ones envisaged for India’s trade and economic linkage with Afghanistan, the Central Asian nations – Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan – and beyond.

With its combined annual trade volume with the five Central Asian nations still below $ 2 billion, India is keen to promote the Chabahar Port to overcome the problem of lack of overland connectivity with the region.

The Prime Minister and Uzbek President on Friday discussed the situation in Afghanistan and noted that the establishment of peace and stability in the war-torn country was of great importance to the security and stability of the entire region.

They called for the settlement of the Afghan conflict on the principle of Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled peace process. India and Uzbekistan expressed their unanimity in their support for a united, sovereign and the democratic Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, according to the joint statement issued after the summit.