Afghanistan began exports to India through an Iranian port on Sunday, officials said, as the landlocked and war-torn nation turns to overseas markets to improve its economy.
Officials said 23 trucks carrying 57 tonnes of dried fruits, textiles, carpets and mineral products were dispatched from western Afghan city of Zaranj to Iran’s Chabahar port. The consignment will be shipped to the Indian city of Mumbai.
At the inauguration of the new export route, President Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan was slowly improving its exports in a bid to reduce its trade deficit. “Chabahar port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan this will ensure economic growth,” he said.
Ghani said that with the opening of the Chabahar route, the country’s exports will increase to $2 billion from the current $1 billion in the next year. “Today, Nimroz is turning from a deprived province into a key province,” Ghani said as he pointed out to the importance of the Chabahar Port for Nimroz. Ghani directed relevant institutions to start work on improving Nimroz from a third-grade province to a second-grade province. “Afghanistan is not a landlocked country … it is the heart of Asia,” Ghani said, adding that Afghanistan is turning from an importer to an exporter country.
The Iranian port provides easy access to the sea to Afghanistan and India has helped developed this route to allow both countries to engage in trade bypassing Pakistan.
Last year the US government granted an exception to certain US sanctions that allowed development of Chabahar port as part of a new transportation corridor designed to boost Afghanistan’s economy and meet their needs of non-sanctionable goods such as food and medicines.
India has sent 1.1 million tonnes of wheat and 2,000 tonnes of lentils to Afghanistan through Chabahar.
Both countries established an air corridor in 2017. Afghan exports to India stood at $740 million in 2018, making it the largest export destination, officials said.
The event was also attended by Iranian Ambassador to Kabul Mohammadreza Bahrami and Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar, IRNA reported.
Iranian ambassador for his part noted that the infrastructure in Chabahar Port has been significantly upgraded over the past few years, and the next phases of the port will be inaugurated in the coming years.
Last year in February, Iran said it had agreed to lease operational control of Chabahar to India for 18 months and in June, India’s Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said India is trying to make Chabahar fully operational by 2019.
Indian ambassador Vinay Kumar said at the ceremony that Afghanistan’s exports to India have increased by 40 percent after the launch of air corridor between Kabul and New Delhi. India has committed up to $500 million for the development of Chabahar Port along with associated roads and rail lines.
Published in Daily Times, February 25th 2019.
