Following recent talks with Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister for India has announced that India will invest US$500 million to develop Iran’s Chabahar Port, and effectively open up a transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, according to the BBC.
India initially pledged to make an investment of $85 million.
Mr Modi said: “The bilateral agreement to develop the Chabahar port and related infrastructure, and availability of about $500m from India for this purpose, is an important milestone. This major effort would boost economic growth in the region.”
Mr Rouhani said: “Considering all the credit lines that are going to come from India into the Chabahar port, it can very well turn into a very big symbol of cooperation between the two great countries of Iran and India.”
In a previous article by PTI, it was reported that India was working to agree on contract terms in order to commence development of Chabahar Port.
The deal has been viewed as a great opportunity for Iran to facilitate Indian trade and boost the economies of both countries.
It was also recently reported that Singapore is looking at opportunities to develop ports in Iran, with there being many opportunities for boosting Iranian trade along the northern coast.