While the United States is creating war hype, India is using
Iranian port, Chabahar as transit route to send goods to Afghanistan.
According to an IRNA report, India’s first consignment of
rice to Afghanistan which is due to be delivered through India-Iran-Afghanistan
trade route arrived at Chabahar Port.
According to Khan Jan Alokozay, First Vice President, Afghanistan
Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI), it is the first of its kind and more
shipments will follow in the near future.
India launched a trade route to Afghanistan via Iran through
shipping its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan in October last year,
bypassing longtime rival Pakistan.
Also in February, the Afghanistan-Iran-India trade corridor
in which Afghanistan will export goods to India through Iran’s southeastern
Chabahar Port was inaugurated.
Afghanistan's first 570 ton export cargo included 200 tons
of grains and 370 tons of talc stone which arrived in Chabahar port late
February.
Afghanistan is planning to boost is exports revenue to US$2
billion this year and according to Afghan officials, a significant share of the
country’s exports will be through Iran’s Chabahar Port.
In 2016, Iran, India and Afghanistan decided to jointly
establish a trade route for land-locked Central Asian countries.
India has committed US$500 million to Chabahar Port
development as a way to bypass Pakistan and crack open a trade and transport
route to landlocked Afghanistan, as well as the resource rich countries of
central Asia.
India is expanding its economic diplomacy in Afghanistan,
seeing itself as a regional power. Its involvement in Chabahar’s development is
primarily about establishing a gateway to Afghanistan, more than Iran itself.
