CHABAHAR
PORT – INTERNATIONAL
News:
Meet on Chabahar:
countries emphasise 'territorial integrity'
What's
in the news?
●
India and several Central Asian countries
have emphasised the need to respect "sovereignty and territorial
integrity" while pushing for connectivity projects, during the Joint
Working Group Meeting on the Chabahar port, held in Mumbai on April 12 and 13.
Key
takeaways:
●
The meeting saw the participation of
Deputy Ministers and senior officials of Iran,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and India.
Special invitees included the country representative of the United Nations World Food Programme.
●
This coincides with the ministerial
meeting of neighbouring countries of Afghanistan in Samarkand, where China
expressed its willingness to help Taliban-led Kabul join the Belt and Road
Initiative.
Geo-political and Geo-strategic
Importance of Chabahar Port:
1.
Energy Imports:
●
Amid the turmoil in Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and other OECD countries, the development of Chabahar port holds importance to
India in regulating its key oil imports.
2.
Countering China's Presence:
●
To counter Chinese presence in the western
Arabian Sea amid the development of Gwadar port in Pakistan, Chabahar port
holds importance.
3.
Bypass Pakistan:
●
The port will allow India to bypass
Pakistan to transport goods to Afghanistan and Central Asia using a sea-land
route.
4. Developing Trade ties with Afghanistan:
●
Afghanistan
being a landlocked country can be reached easily through sea
land route from Chabahar port.
●
With the improved connectivity, cultural
and trade ties with Afghanistan can be taken to a higher level.
●
It would provide access to strategically
important countries such as Afghanistan whose stability is important from
India's security perspective.
5.
Gateway to Central Asia:
●
Chabahar port in Iran would be India’s
gateway to landlocked Afghanistan and other central Asian countries, overcoming
geographical constraints imposed by Pakistan.
6.
Improving Regional Connectivity:
●
It gives momentum to Ashgabat and the International North-South Transport Corridor Project
which aims to have connectivity between India, Iran, Central Asia and Europe
via infrastructural projects like rail, ship and road routes.
●
It will reduce the cost of transport of goods to Central and West Asian countries
from India and can achieve our energy requirements.
7.
Maritime prowess of India:
●
It would provide India with control and
close monitoring in the Indian ocean region and presence of outside power in
the region.
8.
Countering Terrorism:
●
Terrorism has become a major issue in the
region especially in emanating from Pakistan and therefore it would provide an
insight into the terrorist activities along with cooperation of Iran.
Challenges
in developing Chabahar Port:
1.
Sanctions on Iran:
●
International sanction against Iran due to
its nuclear activity which limited India's engagement with Iran.
2.
Fiscal Constraints:
●
Huge financial investments seem to be a
big challenge for India due to persistent issues like twin deficits, domestic
policies and infrastructure issues.
3.
Restrain of Investors:
●
Lack of Investors to invest in the
development of Chabahar port due to imposing of sanction from the west which
was recently revoked by the US.
4.
Lack of Political Will:
●
With developing ties with the US, the
Indian government is reluctant to develop the Chabahar port in a time bound
manner.
5.
Rising costs:
●
Delay caused cost escalation which is also
one of the causes of implementation hindrance.
6.
Change in Iran's Stand:
●
In the second term of Hassan Rouhani, the
stand of the Iran government was changed to a more radical one.
●
Statement of the Iran government noted
that the port can't be exclusively used by India but by Pakistan and China also
has slowed the pace of development of Chabahar Port.
WAY
FORWARD:
●
Speed
up the project and implement it in a time bound manner with close monitoring at
the highest level.
●
Availability of finance and transactions
in international currency should be speed up with cooperation of international
banks.
●
India should keep its strategic and
economic interest upfront without having been influenced by outside power.
India
should not limit its strategic autonomy because of foreign pressures.
Rather through skillful diplomacy pursue its national interests amidst
geopolitical challenges. India may also consider building an international
consortium with countries like Japan and South Korea to invest in the project
for timely completion of the project.
Further
Reference: India - Iran Relations