India, Afghanistan and Iran on Tuesday held their first trilateral meeting on Chabahar port project in Tehran.
“Detailed discussions were held between the three sides on full operationalisation of the trilateral Agreement for international transit and transport through Chabahar port,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
India, Iran and Afghanistan in May 2016 had signed a pact which entailed establishment of a transit and transport corridor among the three countries using Chabahar Port as one of the regional hubs.
“All sides shared the view that full operationalisation of trilateral Chabahar initiative will promote connectivity and economic development of Afghanistan and the region,” MEA added.
It said the meeting decided to constitute a follow-up committee that would hold its first meeting within two months in Chabahar port.
“The committee would discuss and aim to finalise protocol to harmonise transit, roads, customs and consular matters for making the route attractive, decrease logistic costs and pave the way for smooth implementation of the Trilateral Chabahar Agreement.”
The Indian delegation at the trilateral meeting was led by T.S. Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations). The Afghan and Iran delegations were led by respective deputy ministers of Transport.
“It was decided to hold the next meeting of the Coordination Council in the first half of 2019 in India,” MEA said.
