India sends 1st wheat shipment to Afghanistan via Chabahar port

The Chabahar port on Iran’s coast serves as a crucial junction for India-Iran-Afghanistan trade corridor. Photo: Reuters

The Chabahar port on Iran’s coast serves as a crucial junction for India-Iran-Afghanistan trade corridor. Photo: Reuters

India on Sunday flagged off a shipment of wheat for Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar port—marking the operationalization of the port for the trans-shipment of goods from India to the landlocked country.

The development is seen as a significant one as it torpedoes Pakistan’s veto over trade between India and Afghanistan—a move aimed at circumscribing India’s role in Afghanistan. And it comes almost 15 years after India and Iran first agreed to develop the Chabahar port to ease connectivity bottlenecks for New Delhi in reaching out to landlocked Central Asia and Afghanistan. It also follows US president Donald Trump in August calling on India to play a larger role in stabilizing war-torn Afghanistan as he announced a revamped security plan to defeat a resurgent Taliban.

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Credit: livemint.com