A senior Indian official will lead a high-ranking delegation comprising business delegates, among others, at the day-long event, which will also see the participation of Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia. Iran will make a presentation on the prospects of the port to the visiting delegates, Economic Times reported.
The jointly-organized event is aimed at showcasing the business potential of the port.
Iran is pitching the event as an opportunity for businessmen, traders, freight companies, and national and international liners from various countries, said an Iranian official. One of the main goals is to enable the entry of large international shipping liners into the port, he said.
The port, India’s key link to Afghanistan and Eurasia, became operational for transit to Kabul following a tripartite agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran. India Ports Global Limited, which is operating the Shahid Beheshti terminal, opened an office in the port in December last year.
On December 24, 2018, India, Iran and Afghanistan jointly inaugurated the office of the Indian special purpose vehicle – India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) – in the port. The physical takeover of the terminal area, cargo handling equipment and office building was completed five days later.
Commercial operations began at IPGCFZ with the arrival of a Cyprus registered bulk carrier with 72,458 MT of corn cargo.
A 500-km-long Chabahar-Zahedan railway link is also being developed that will connect to Afghanistan’s Zaranj-Delaram road and bring Iran and Afghanistan closer.
MR/PR