Iran Backs 'Potential' of Chabahar in Boosting Regional Trade as It Concludes SCO Membership Process

India wants to link Chabahar Port to the Russia-backed International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and the country's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar earlier endorsed the idea of Chabahar becoming a major trading port for SCO member states.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev have jointly endorsed the “potential” of Chabahar Port in expanding regional trade and connectivity as they held bilateral discussions in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

A statement from Mirziyoyev’s office said trade volumes through the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran route could triple through the “effective use” of Chabahar, a port in the Gulf of Oman being developed with millions of dollars of investments from India.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, also part of Raisi’s delegation, signed a memorandum of commitments that paved the way for Tehran’s “permanent accession” to the SCO. Iran will now be able to attend SCO meetings as a full-fledged member starting from next year.

During a meeting between SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming and Raisi on Thursday, the Iranian president said that Tehran was in favor of boosting ties in the political, technological, economic, and transit fields, as per an official statement.

“Iran is a big, influential country that can play a significant role in the security of the region and the world. As a large country in the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran also has good political and commercial relations with the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, relying on the extensive historical and cultural common grounds it has with the countries of the region,” Ming told Raisi.

Discussions on expanding trade through the Chabahar Port are also expected to take place during a bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Modi and the Uzbekistan President Mirziyoyev on Friday.

Before his departure for the SCO Summit, Prime Minister Modi said that deepening regional cooperation in trade was on the agenda during his two-day visit to Uzbekistan.

India and Uzbekistan have been negotiating expanding trade between the two nations through the Trans-Caspian Multi Modal Transit Corridor, a hybrid land-sea connectivity route that involves Chabahar.

The first batch of cargo from Uzbekistan to India through the Chabahar Port was transported in July this year, as per the Indian Shipping Ministry.