External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has reacted to the US warning of "potential risks of sanction" against India after a pact with Iran on Chabahar Port, stating that the project will benefit the entire region and people should not take a "narrow view" of it.
He added that the United States had previously acknowledged the broader significance of Chabahar. Jaishankar's statement came as India signed a 10-year contract with Iran on Monday to develop and operate the Iranian port of Chabahar. The US had then warned India, stating that "anyone considering business deals with Iran should need to be aware of the potential risks that they are opening themselves up to and the potential risk of sanctions."
When asked about the US reaction to the Indo-Iranian deal, the EAM said: "I did see some of the remarks which were made, but I think it’s a question of communicating, convincing and getting people to understand, that this is actually for everyone’s benefit. I don’t think people should take a narrow view of it."
"They (US) have not done so in the past. So, if you look at the US’ own attitude towards the port in Chabahar, the US has been appreciative of the fact that Chabahar has a larger relevance…we will work at it," he added.
The EAM said though India had a longstanding involvement with the project, it had not been able to formalise a long-term agreement until now. However, New Delhi managed to successfully address outstanding issues, paving the way for the signing of the long-term agreement.
"We have had a long association with the Chabahar Port, but we could never sign a long-term agreement. The reason was…there were various problems on the Iranian end…the joint-venture partner changes, the condition changed," Jaishankar said.
"Finally, we were able to sort this out and we were able to get the long-term agreement done. The long-term agreement is necessary because without it you cannot really improve the port operation. And the port operation we believe, will benefit the entire region," he added.
The latest development can also be seen as India’s answer to the strategically-located port of Gwadar in Pakistan that has been built with Chinese help providing the latter with an important sphere of influence in the region. Chabahar is located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province on Iran’s southwestern coast and only 550 nautical miles (NM) from Gujarat’s Kandla port and 786 NM from Mumbai. Its immense strategic importance lies in the fact that it offers an alternative transit from the Strait of Hormuz for cargo traffic between Central Asian countries and Afghanistan.
