India’s Minister stresses importance of Iran’s Chabahar port for India

India’s Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid underlined the importance of the Iranian port of Chabahar for the transit of Indian goods to the Central Asian countries. “We are looking at re-energizing the national North-South Corridor to connect India with the Central Asia and Russia through Iran’s Chabahar port city,” Khurshid said, addressing a three-day conference on Central Asia held Kashmir University. The Indian external affairs minister reiterated that Iran can provide greater access to Central Asia for India. Khurshid noted that India is considering trans-Afghan routes using Chabahar, specially to get access to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The North-South Transport Corridor is the ship, rail, and road route for moving cargo from South Asia to Europe through Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Russia. Iran is located in the international corridor with the Iranian part of the corridor starting in Chabahar in the south and stretching up to the city of Mashhad. Iran's Chabahar port, which is located 72 kilometers West of Pakistan's Gwadar port, holds immense strategic and economic significance for India. Chabahar and Gwadar ports are located in a common coast and they are 70 kilometers away from one another.