Iran-India economic ties gathering steam

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Affairs held numerous meetings with high-ranking Indian economic officials to bolster trade and economic relations.

Mehdi Safari discussed some obstacles and challenges faced by the two sides in their economic cooperation and explored ways of expanding ties and areas of cooperation between Tehran and New Delhi and their private companies.

During the two-day visit, he held negotiations with some ministers, deputy ministers and heads of key economic institutions of India as well as companies active in trade, economic, technological, transportation, industrial and energy fields.

Public meetings of the two deputy foreign ministers and their entourage were meant to raise issues and problems and also to look into ways of resolving them and expanding trade and economic cooperation. Meanwhile, at the end of the visit, summing up the results and drawing a roadmap for relations were the most important parts of the agenda of the delegation.

Indian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Damo Ravi, for his part, referred to the emphasis of the two heads of government on strengthening cooperation and also to the recent visit by Iran’s foreign minister that paved the way for this purpose. He described the meetings of the economic official of the Foreign Ministry and his entourage in India as “very good”.

Ravi stressed the transit cooperation between Iran and India and the huge potential of this field, saying, “We are able to continue cooperation and consultations, resolve the existing problems and boost trade between the two countries considerably.”

During his meeting with the Indian shipping minister and deputy minister in which talks were held over port cooperation and development process of Chabahar Port, Safari also underlined the need for the Indian side to fulfill its commitment to commission installations put in place in Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.

The other topics discussed were the efforts by the two sides to increase shipments transfer through Chabahar, investment by Indian companies in the Chabahar Free Zone and finalizing the long-term and temporary deals at the port.

During this trip, the officials of the agriculture ministries of Iran and India reached an agreement on the formation of a joint working group tasked with pursuing and implementing deals in the fields of agriculture, trade and transit of crops through Iran, exchange of experiences, technical know-how and educational cooperation in the fields of agriculture and plant health and also cooperation between the quarantine centers of Iran and India.

As for port and navigation cooperation, the representatives of the Organization of Ports and Free Zones of Iran held a separate meeting with officials of the Indian shipping ministry and the Indian brokering company operating in Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.

In the meeting, the two sides discussed operational steps to commission the installations put in place in the port, supply of other necessary equipment, to encourage the private sectors of India and Iran to participate in the future plans for cooperation and investment in the Chabahar and Makran Free Zones.

In the financial sector, too, the Iranian banking officials met with officials of the Indian ministry of finance. In the meeting, they exchanged views over resolution of some impediments to cooperation between the two sides and also the use of new banking technologies for the purpose of increasing financial exchanges and reached some important agreements.

In the summing up meeting of the economic delegations of the two sides during the trip, they expressed pleasure at their success in making important achievements (including in the fields of banking, energy, agriculture and transportation as well as the free zones and Chabahar). The two sides also underlined the necessity of swiftly and steadily pursuing issues and planning of periodic meetings between the relevant authorities of Iran and India in order to further advance economic, trade and investment ties and also to use regional transit routes, especially the potential of the north-south transportation corridor, which have been emphasized by the heads of the two governments.

MA/MFA