India, Iran ink 9 pacts after ‘substantive’ talks between Modi, Rouhani

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today held “substantive” talks on key issues of terrorism, security, trade and energy, after which the two sides inked nine pacts, including a lease contract for a part of Chabahar port’s operation for 18 months.

“Today, we are witnessing the development of Chabahar Port and a momentum in the construction of Chabahar railway to Zahedan with India’s investment,” Rouhani said, asserting that ties between the two countries are going to intensify further.

The two leaders also deliberated on the regional situation during wide-ranging talks, with both asserting that there was a need for a peaceful, stable, prosperous and a pluralistic Afghanistan.

Addressing a joint press event with Rouhani, Modi said the two countries want a terror-free world and they were committed to stopping the expansion of those powers which encourage terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, cyber crimes and other international crimes. On his part, Rouhani said, “We are determined to combat terrorism and extremism.”

The Iranian leader also said that regional conflicts must be resolved through diplomacy and political initiatives, but did not specifically name any regional dispute.

Pacts inked

The two sides also inked nine pacts, which included lease contract between Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization and India’s Ports Global Limited (IPGL) to take over operation of existing facilities at the Shahid Beheshti Port—Phase 1 of Chabahar—for 18 months.

Other pacts included avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, ratification of extradition treaty, exemption from visa requirement for holders of diplomatic passports, traditional systems of medicine and establishment of an expert group on trade remedy measures.

In addition to these nine pacts, four more pacts were inked on the sidelines of Rouhani’s visit between the two countries, officials said.

“Golden gateway”

Modi said the visit by the Iranian president shows how the two sides want to deepen cooperation in key areas, including connectivity, and described the strategically-important Chabahar as a “golden gateway”, development of which will help in reaching out to land-locked Afghanistan and central Asia.

The Prime Minister also appreciated the way the Iranian leader provided leadership in developing the Chabahar Port. Noting that they had “positive talks” on tariff-related issues and banking relations, Rouhani said,”We have decided to expand cooperation in natural gas and petrochemical sector.”

“Common stance”

President Rouhani said India and Iran have a “common stance” in effectively dealing with terrorism and extremism, and called for concerted regional efforts to deal with the challenge.

After holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rouhani, trying to reflect on growing congruence in bilateral ties, said the two sides deliberated on a range of pressing bilateral, regional and international issues but did not disagree on even a "single topic". "Iran and India have a common stance on confronting terrorism and extremism, and we are determined to confront terrorism and extremism through culture and the exchange of information and experience," he said in a statement to the media. “On all major bilateral, regional and international issues, we did not disagree on even a single topic," he said.

Asked whether India raised the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir during today’s talks, officials in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that there was an understanding on how India was a victim of terrorism, indicating that it figured in the deliberations.

The Iranian President said Modi’s visit to Tehran in 2016 paved the way for bringing new momentum in ties and its fruits are being seeing today. “Relations between Iran and India are beyond political and diplomatic. It is a historical relationship, it is a relationship based on civilisational heritage,” he said.

Rouhani said Iran was “fully ready” to intensify cooperation in the areas of energy, particularly oil, gas and petrochemicals. “We also had a great deal of discussion today on facilitating economic relations, preferential trade tariffs, better banking relations, visa relations and facilitating travel between the two countries for business purposes,” he said. On Iran’s nuclear issue, he said both the countries have a common viewpoint that the commitment to the international agreement must be honoured.

Earlier, Rouhani was given a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In the morning, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on Rouhani and discussed various issues with him. 

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