Chabahar Port

Context (IE): During a visit to Iran, EAM S Jaishankar held discussions about establishing a long-term cooperation framework for the Chabahar port.

Chabahar is located at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman.
It is only about 170 kilometres west of the Pakistani port of Gwadar.
Chabahar is Iran’s only oceanic port and the first deepwater port that putting Iran on the global oceanic trade route map.

A Oceanic port is a port located on the shore of a sea or ocean. It is further categorised as commercial and non-commercial.
Types of Ports: Inland Port, Sea Ports, River Ports, Dry Ports.

It is situated in Sistan and Baluchistan Province on the Makran coast.

India in Chabahar Port

There are two main ports in Chabahar – the Shahid Kalantari port and the Shahid Beheshti port.
The Shahid Kalantari port was developed in the 1980s.
Iran offered India the project of developing the Shahid Beheshti port.
The Chabahar Project was signed in 2003, and the port is being developed in four Phases.
India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement in April 2016, leading to the rapid development of work in Chabahar.
The two countries signed an initial agreement in 2016 for India to develop and operate the port’s Shahid Beheshti terminal for ten years.
- Several factors, including differences in some clauses in the pact, have delayed the finalisation of the long-term agreement.
  - E.g. Clause related to jurisdiction for arbitration in case of disputes.
In 2017, the first phase of Shahid Beheshti port was inaugurated.
One of the critical projects of keen interest to India and Iran was the linking of Chabahar Port to the Zaranj-Delaram Highway in Afghanistan.
- This is a 215 km long highway that was built in Afghanistan with assistance from India.

It will Boost trade ties, diplomatic ties, and military ties with Iran.
With the set up of Chabahr Port, Iran became a military ally of India.

India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia has been dependent on transit through Pakistan.

Chabahar Port offers an alternative route that bypasses Pakistan, reducing India’s reliance on Pakistan for trade with Afghanistan and beyond.

It offers India a gateway to the resource-rich and economically vibrant region of Central Asia.
It can enhance India’s trade and investment opportunities, leading to economic growth and job creation in India.

Chabahar Port can serve as a entry point for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
- To provide aid, infrastructure development support, and other assistance to Afghanistan, contributing to regional stability.

By developing and operating Chabahar Port, India can enhance its strategic influence in the Indian Ocean region.
It provides India with a ability to counterbalance China’s influence in the region, mainly through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
- Chabahar could be used to counter china’s naval presence in Gwadar port.

Chabahar is made of the Persian words Chahar, meaning four, and bahar, meaning spring (A place that has spring in all the four seasons of the year).

The Port allows India to access energy resources in Iran and the broader region.
It opens up opportunities for India to invest in Iran’s energy sector & secure stable energy supply.

Chabahar-Zahedan railway line: This will connect Chabahar Port to Afghanistan and further into Central Asia.
- This project enhances regional connectivity and promotes economic integration among countries in the region.
- It will give access to Afghanistan’s Garland Highway, setting up road access to four major cities in Afghanistan – Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif.
INSTC: It would give momentum to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). India and Iran are initial signatories, along with Russia.
- Iran is the critical gateway to this project.
Transportation Hub: Chabahar aims to become a transportation hub, connecting landlocked Central Asian countries to global markets through a combination of sea, rail, and road routes.

The INSTC project was originally decided between India, Iran, and Russia in 2000 in St Petersburg and subsequently included ten other Central Asian and West Asian countries.
It envisions a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes.
The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Astrakhan, etc.
It aims to reduce the carriage cost between India and Russia by about 30% and bring down the transit time from 40 days by more than half.

Chabahar Port offers India an alternative maritime route to reach markets in the Persian Gulf, the broader Middle East, and beyond.
It reduces transit time and shipping costs for Indian goods.

Maximum pressure strategy: The USA’s comprehensive sanctions on Iran have hampered Iran’s ambitions to become a key energy supplier to India.
- The INSTC would require USA’s assistance to accomplish its goal.
- Even if EU agree to lift sanctions, Iran’s access to dollar-dominated markets will be subject to USA’s approval.
- The Chabahar project’s is vulnerable to the region’s current geopolitical climate, including the failure of the JCPOA negotiations.
Iran-China Relations: Iran’s increasing reliance on Beijing could hurt Indo-Iranian competition and potentially halt connectivity projects.
- India has expressed concerns about the agreement due to the 25-year trade agreement between Iran and Beijing.

The deal is also known as 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.
The JCPOA was the result of negotiations from 2013 and 2015 between Iran and P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States + Germany).
Under the deal, Iran agreed to significantly cut its stores of centrifuges, enriched uranium and heavy-water, all key components for nuclear weapons.
Iran also agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to access its nuclear sites.

Delay in the Project: Delay in fulfilling the obligations of developing the Chabahar Port and the Chabahar-Zahedan railway route on India’s part.
- On India’s failure to complete the 624 km railway line on time, Iran may seek more investment from China.
- India sees the Sino-Iranian agreement as a step towards India’s withdrawal from Chabahar Port.