India to open new ports to connect Iran’s Chabahar

India, Iran and Afghanistan have decided to open Mormugoa and New Mangalore Port in addition to JNPT, Mundra, Kandla and Cochin as part of designated route under the Chabahar Agreement for connecting South Asia’s biggest country to strategically located port.

This was decided at the second meeting of the Follow-up Committee for implementation of the trilateral Chabahar Agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran at the level of Joint Secretary/ Director General held here on Friday.

All the three countries welcomed steady progress in port operations by India Ports Global Ltd company since the taking over of the port operations at Shaheed Beheshti Port at Chabahar in December 2018. It was recognized that over 5 lakh tons of cargo has been handled successfully. This includes exports from Afghanistan through Chabahar Port which began in February 2019.

A study will be conducted by Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) to streamline cargo transit through Shahid Beheshti Port, Chabahar.

It was agreed to finalise the protocol to harmonise transit, roads, customs and consular matters. Till that time, the TIR Convention will continue to be used for cargo movement.

It was agreed to organize promotional and business events in Afghanistan and India to popularize Chabahar port.