NEW DELHI: India on Sunday formally handed over two 140-tonne mobile harbour cranes to the authorities of the Chabahar port in Iran and both sides reviewed their overall cooperation in developing the transit hub.
Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties. An Indian delegation, led by Joint Secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran) in the External Affairs Ministry JP Singh handed over the cranes, according to Indian Embassy in Iran.
"Mr JP Singh, JS(PAI) @Meaindia handed over two 140 ton mobile harbor cranes, the first shipment of equipment being supplied by India, for the development of phase-I of Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar," it tweeted.
The first phase of the project was inaugurated in December 2017. It is learnt that both sides also reviewed the overall cooperation in developing the port which is being increasingly seen as a fulcrum of connectivity to Central Asia.
Last month, India, Iran and Uzbekistan held their first trilateral talks to explore ways for joint use of the port for trade and enhancing regional connectivity. The trilateral meeting took place in the backdrop of India pitching for participation of Uzbekistan in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project.
The INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.