Iran says it offers India bigger role in strategic port

[Mohan]

NEW DELHI: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has asked India to invest in infrastructure projects worth $8 billion, including an expanded role in developing a strategic port that will open up access to Central Asia, Iran's envoy to New Delhi said on Friday.

The port of Chabahar in southeast Iran is central to India's efforts to circumvent arch-rival Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where it has developed close security ties and economic interests.

Rouhani suggested the larger role for India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a summit in Russia days before the historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Iran's ambassador to India told Reuters.

"The potential between Iran and India is great but we were just facing such a wall of sanctions, wall of American pressure," ambassador Gholamreza Ansari said.

Gholamreza Ansari, Iran's ambassador to India, speaks during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi on July 17, 2015. (Reuters photo)

Ansari said that with sanctions likely to be lifted soon, it was a "golden time" for India to seize investment opportunities because of the two countries' close trade ties and shared interest in improving Central Asian transport links.

"Connectivity is the main policy of Modi that coincides with Iran's government policy," Ansari said. "We have offered them, in connectivy, $8 billion of projects."

Modi's meeting with Rouhani was part of a tour of Central Asia focused on increasing India's role in the region.

It was not immediately clear how Modi responded to Rouhani's offer.

India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Iran and six world powers reached a nuclear deal on Tuesday, clearing the way for an easing of sanctions on Tehran.

India and Iran agreed in 2003 to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, near Iran's border with Pakistan, but the venture has moved slowly because of the sanctions over Iran's atomic programme.

Gholamreza Ansari arrives for an interview with Reuters in New Delhi on July 17, 2015. (Reuters photo)

The two countries maintained a close relationship despite the US-led trade restrictions that halved their oil trade to 220,000 barrels per day last year.

In May, India's shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, signed an $85 million deal for India to lease two existing berths at the port and use them as multi-purpose cargo terminals.

Under the new proposal India could help build second and third terminals at the port, as well as railway connections into the rest of Iran, Ansari said.

India has moved slowly on opportunities in Iran in the past, including the giant Farzad B gas field. Ansari said India was the "first priority" to develop Farzad B, but urged New Delhi to move fast: "If they drag their feet, the market will not wait."


Source

 

[Muqadas]

Good for you sir.
We are extremely happy for Iran.
May Allah bless them with prosperity.
They have seen some really tough days, we are very happy that they are back in business.

 

[zain786]

jab se pak china coridor ka scene on hua hai india ki sai phati pare hai ab iran k poun mai gerne ja ra hai bohat he gera hua mulq hai rapistan

 

[zain786]

Good for you sir.
We are extremely happy for Iran.
May Allah bless them with prosperity.
They have seen some really tough days, we are very happy that they are back in business.

lakh de ***** geo waleyo tuade ute

 

[Muqadas]

lakh de ***** geo waleyo tuade ute

سر، ایران کے لوگوں کے لئے خوشحالی کی دعا مانگ کر اگر میں نے کوئی غلطی کی ہے
اور آپ کو اس سے دکھ پہنچا ہے تو میں معافی چاہتی ہوں
شکریہ
اور عید مبارک
اللہ آپ کو اور آپ کے گھر والوں کو صحت اور خوشحالی عطا فرمائے​

 

[zain786]

سر، ایران کے لوگوں کے لئے خوشحالی کی دعا مانگ کر اگر میں نے کوئی غلطی کی ہے
اور آپ کو اس سے دکھ پہنچا ہے تو میں معافی چاہتی ہوں
شکریہ
اور عید مبارک
اللہ آپ کو اور آپ کے گھر والوں کو صحت اور خوشحالی عطا فرمائے​

khair mubarak i hope apne post sai tarha parh le hoti phir dua farmaten

 

[ptilover788]

Sab ki phati pari hye pak china coridor say. Pak china coridor ka koi muqabla nae ker sakta

 

[yasir18]

This Iranian port is close to Gwadar and choosing India in the construction of this port is understandable. Everything is evident that who will suffer.

 

[greenstar]

This is what people feared. Iran was given a cold shoulder by many muslim countries except may be some far away countries.

Now if Iran becomes powerful, it will develop close relations with china, india and russia which are its biggest oil buyers but Iran should be careful about india. India has a duplicitous face.

 

[greenstar]

This Iranian port is close to Gwadar and choosing India in the construction of this port is understandable. Everything is evident that who will suffer.

From 1979 to 2015, Pakistan had 36 years to develop Gwadar. We cannot stop Iran from developing their own port now. Its their country.

 

[Khair Andesh]

ہر ملک کی اپنی ترجیحات ہوتی ہیں، اور وہ اپنی پالیسیاں بنانے میں آزاد ہوتا ہے۔ جس کو چاہے نوازے، جس کو چاہے محروم رکھے۔انڈیا ایران تعلقات کوئی راز نہیں، اور نہ ہی کبھی انہیں چھپانے کی کوشش کی گئی ہے۔

 

[Sachbolo]

Good for Iran if the Indian's Invest in their port but I doubt first on Investment like China do through out the world with the Indian Miserliness in their taught process and system and on the other part it wouldn't be very helpful for India as it has to pass through Afghanistan and you know anything can change in Afghanistan as there are so many factions in them and all have different priorities.

 

[abhay]

India plans $3 billion aluminum smelter in Iran

Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:13AM

India’s National Aluminium Co. plans to build a 500,000-ton smelter in Iran.
India plans a $3 billion aluminum smelter complex in Iran, now that nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 countries have concluded, media reports say.
The idea was mooted in 2014 but India has been cooling its heels for the removal of sanctions on Iran to go ahead with the plan.
India’s National Aluminium Co. is now seriously considering to implement the project after Iran and the P5+1 finalized their negotiations on Tuesday.
The plan includes the construction of a smelter to produce 500,000 metric tons of aluminum per year and a 1,000-megawatt captive power plant.
India’s coal stock is not sufficient to power its aluminum production and since imports of coal are not viable, the country has to look for reserves and build a plant abroad.
Iran is using a mix of sources for power generation, including hydroelectric stations, oil products and natural gas.
With a lingering drought having drained dams and oil products polluting the environment, the country is switching to gas-powered electricity. Last year, Iran fed 50 billion cubic meters of gas into its power plants, up from 36 billion cubic meters a year before.
The country is viewed an ideal destination for aluminum production because of its power generation capacities, given that electricity accounts for 40% of smelting costs.
Iran itself produces about 340,000 metric tons of aluminum per year and plans to raise it to 1.5 million tons by 2025 with an investment of about $12 billion.

Hormozgan Aluminium Co. in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas.Its biggest aluminum manufacturer, the Iranian Aluminum Company (Iralco), is based in the central city of Arak and listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange.
Bid for business
Other Indian companies are reportedly scouting for business opportunities in Iran. Multinational conglomerate Larsen & Toubro is said to be angling for oil and gas projects while Tata Power is looking for power schemes and Adani Enterprises eyeing port investments.
India signed an MoU in May for the development of Chabahar Port in southeast Iran. A commercial accord is still needed to implement the pact. New Delhi says it will use terminals in the port to operate container and multi-purpose cargo ships.
Last month, the second English-language Indian daily, the Hindu, said New Delhi had begun “resetting” ties with Tehran to pave its way for entry into Afghanistan and the Central Asia.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/07/17/420668/iran-india-aluminum-smelter-nalco

 

[abhay]

India to finance Iran rail tracks exports

Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:29PM

Officials in Tehran say India will finance exporting about 150,000 tons of standard rail tracks to Iran.
Officials in Tehran announced on Saturday that India will finance exporting about 150,000 tons of standard rail tracks to Iran.
Saeid Mohammadzadeh, the deputy director for technical and infrastructure affairs of Iran Railways (IRIR), told the local media that India has created a special mechanism to support exports of rail tracks to Iran through the full finance scheme.
Mohammadzadeh added that Iran will not pay anything for the imports of the tracks.
Last year, India signed a contract worth $233 million with Iran for exports of rail tracks by companies including Steel Authority of India (SAIL).
Based on the original contract, the Indian companies would provide Iran with enough standard rail tracks to set up a network project spanning over 15,000 kilometers.
It is still not clear if the finance mechanism that Mohammadzadeh has mentioned involves the deal with the SAIL-led group.
Officials in Tehran have already emphasized that Iran wants to spend up to $8 billion over the next six years to revamp and expand its railway network.
To the same effect, they have emphasized that the country will need about 3 million tons of steel rails to connect all major cities, industrial centers and also ports for faster evacuation of goods.
Analysts are already speculating that the Indian government may reimburse steel exports to Iran through Irans assets that have been frozen in New Delhi banks as the result of the US-led sanctions against the country.
Indian media had previously reported that Indian exporters are banking on the United Commercial Bank or the UCO Bank to settle rupee payments with Iran.
Reports last April said UCO Bank began handling payments for India-Iran trade in 2012, under which domestic oil refiners buy oil from Iran but make payments into an Iran Account with UCOs Mumbai branch. When Iranians import goods from India, the bank pays the Indian exporters out of this account.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/07/11/419818/India-Finance-Iran-Rail-Tracks-Exports

 

[abhay]

Indian PM says Iran excellent transit route for Central Asia

Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:17AM

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) meets with Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, in Turkmenistan’s capital city of Ashgabat on July 11, 2015.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised Iran's geographical situation as a link between Central Asia and Persian Gulf, saying that the country can serve as the main transit route for Central Asian countries.
Speaking in a joint press conference with Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on Saturday, Modi said, “I proposed that we should explore multiple options including the additional possibility of land-sea route through Iran.”
Iran is currently a key link along the International North South Transport Corridor, which connects the countries of Central Asia to free waters of the Indian Ocean through its southern ports.
“Connectivity is an area of priority for both countries. If we use the Iran route, Ashgabat is the first capital we would reach in Central Asia. We are grateful for Turkmenistan’s support to India in joining Ashgabat agreement on trade and transit,” the Indian prime minister added.
Modi’s remarks came after an Iranian official said on June 13 that countries in Central Asia are mulling a plan to use Iran's railroad network as transit route for bulk cargoes.
Hossein Ashouri, deputy head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, said the Central Asian countries have plans to carry various kinds of bulk and container cargoes from the Inchehboroun border crossing in Iran's northern Golestan Province to southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

File photo shows people attending the inauguration of a new train line linking Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan at the Ak Yayla train station on Iran's border with Turkmenistan. AFP“They are also willing to transit their needed commodities from Bandar Abbas to Central Asia” using Iran's railroad network, the official added.

Proposing that Turkmenistan should become a member of the International North South Transport Corridor, the Modi said, “Together with the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran rail link, and India's proposed investment in Chahbahar Port in Iran, these initiatives will strengthen connectivity between our countries.”
On May 24, an Indian official announced that his country has started a major project to develop Iran's southeastern port city of Chabahar, noting that the port will be made operational by December next year.
"Work has already begun on the Chabahar port,” said Nitin Gadkari, India’s minister of road transport, highways and shipping, who added, “There is a joint venture of Kandla Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. We will start port activities in a year or a year and a half."
Iran and India expect the development of Chabahar Port to create an economic corridor toward Afghanistan and Central Asia that bypasses Pakistan.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/0...ndra-Modi-turkmenistan-transport-central-asia

 

[Lord Botta]

Iran shows its true colors. Offers India to invest in Chahbahar to bypass Pakistan

• 
  
  
  Image courtesy: Google map

NEW DELHI: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has asked India to invest in infrastructure projects worth $8 billion, including an expanded role in developing a strategic port that will open up access to Central Asia, Iran's envoy to New Delhi said on Friday.
The port of Chabahar in southeast Iran is central to India's efforts to circumvent arch-rival Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where it has developed close security ties and economic interests.
Rouhani suggested the larger role for India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a summit in Russia days before the historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Iran's ambassador to India told Reuters.
"The potential between Iran and India is great but we were just facing such a wall of sanctions, wall of American pressure," ambassador Gholamreza Ansari said.
Ansari said that with sanctions likely to be lifted soon, it was a "golden time" for India to seize investment opportunities because of the two countries' close trade ties and shared interest in improving Central Asian transport links.
"Connectivity is the main policy of Modi that coincides with Iran's government policy," Ansari said. "We have offered them, in connectivy, $8 billion of projects."
Modi's meeting with Rouhani was part of a tour of Central Asia focused on increasing India's role in the region.
It was not immediately clear how Modi responded to Rouhani's offer.
India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Iran and six world powers reached a nuclear deal on Tuesday, clearing the way for an easing of sanctions on Tehran.
India and Iran agreed in 2003 to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, near Iran's border with Pakistan, but the venture has moved slowly because of the sanctions over Iran's atomic programme.
The two countries maintained a close relationship despite the U.S.-led trade restrictions that halved their oil trade to 220,000 barrels per day last year.
In May, India's Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, signed an $85 million deal for India to lease two existing berths at the port and use them as multi-purpose cargo terminals.
Under the new proposal India could help build second and third terminals at the port, as well as railway connections into the rest of Iran, Ansari said.
India has moved slowly on opportunities in Iran in the past, including the giant Farzad B gas field. Ansari said India was the "first priority" to develop Farzad B, but urged New Delhi to move fast: "If they drag their feet, the market will not wait."



http://www.newindianexpress.com/nat...ss-Central-Asia/2015/07/18/article2926766.ece

 

[MashraQi Larka]

Re: Iran shows its true colors. Offers India to invest in Chahbahar to bypass Pakistan

ایران اپنا اصلی رنگ نا بھی ظاہر کرتا۔۔ 2003 میں ہونے والے معاہدے سے پتہ ہے کہ ایران کتنا کہ سگہ ہے

 

[yahya.khan]

Re: Iran shows its true colors. Offers India to invest in Chahbahar to bypass Pakistan

ہمیں حقیقت پسند ہو کر سوچنا ہو گا
ہر ملک کو دوسرے کے ساتھ تعلقات کا حق حاصل ہے


کیا ہمارے لوگ ورک ویزا لے کر انڈیا کام کرنے نہیں جاتے
اس پر تو ہم بوہت خوش ہوتے ہیں
کیا ہم انڈیا کے ساتھ تجارت نہیں کر رہے


کیا ان کی فلمیں ڈرامے ہر جگہ نہیں چل رہے


ہمارا حال یہ ہے کہ ایران گیس پائپ لائن بنا کر بیٹھا ہوا ہے بارڈر تک کہ پاکستان ہم سے سستی گیس لے
اور یہاں پائپ لائن پر کام شروع ہی نہیں ہوا


ایران ایک سونے کی کان ہے جس کو پاکستان ہمیشہ کی طرح پھر نظر انداز کر رہا ہے

 

[atensari]

Re: Iran shows its true colors. Offers India to invest in Chahbahar to bypass Pakistan

آپ کھلی تجارتی منڈی میں رہ رہے ہیں جہاں ہر کسی کو اپنا مال بیچنے کی اجازت ہے. صارف کو جس کی چیز اچھی لگے قیمت دے کر لے جائے

اگر کسی معاہدے یا قانون کی خلاف ورزی نہیں ہو رہی تو پاکستان/پاکستانیوں کو ایران کے کسی منصوبے پر اعتراض نہیں ہونا چاہے ​

 

[Lord Botta]

Re: Iran shows its true colors. Offers India to invest in Chahbahar to bypass Pakistan

آپ کھلی تجارتی منڈی میں رہ رہے ہیں جہاں ہر کسی کو اپنا مال بیچنے کی اجازت ہے. صارف کو جس کی چیز اچھی لگے قیمت دے کر لے جائے

اگر کسی معاہدے یا قانون کی خلاف ورزی نہیں ہو رہی تو پاکستان/پاکستانیوں کو ایران کے کسی منصوبے پر اعتراض نہیں ہونا چاہے

Legally there is nothing wrong in Iran dealing with India but for diplomatic reasons this move is clearly against Pakistan and Iran must have taken its relations with Pakistan into consideration when it was striking this deal