LETHALFORCE
Mod
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2009
- Messages
- 29,871
- Likes
- 48,535
This is also a dilemma for USA with oil coming thru the persian gulf
India developing Chabahar in Iran port for access to Central Asia
- Thread starter Rage
- Start date
mayfair
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2010
- Messages
- 6,032
- Likes
- 13,109
Why should US be concerned with Chabahar when it's the Chinese in Gwadar they should be wary about?
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2009
- Messages
- 5,419
- Likes
- 1,001
Sir, I must categorically dispute this.
The reason RITES-IRCON does not claim involvement in the project is because, as a state agency, int'l sanctions leveled against Iran by the United States make it that much more difficult for that corporation to be involved in that country.
As this article will demonstrate, a consortia of Indian firms, led by the Hinduja Group and Ashok Leyland actually bagged that project in 2004, in which RITES and IRCON were both minor partners in the issue. Unless something has changed since 2004, the railway line from Bam to Chabahar is firmly within the bag:
http://www.payvand.com/news/04/jul/1073.html
The fact that it is only a 'minor player' in the project, also enables IRCON to avoid mentioning its involvement on its website; and thereby to avoid drawing the flak it ordinarily would as representing its government's non-participation in the sanctions.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2010
- Messages
- 7,869
- Likes
- 23,236
You've a very solid point there, bro. This can be a big menace for Iranian port security as well as their Coast Guard (if they have any). I think then we might need to supply Iranians with something defensive "under the table" to be able to make sure that till the ships reach Indian waters where our Navy can take command, they're able to take care of the ships. We've helped in defence matters to them before without any thing leaking out... we can do it now as well since it is our money we've invested. Also Iran is not a problem for us but a relatively-reasonable partner nation and the only Muslim country that supports us on the K-word.
Knowing the Jundollah menace coming from Balochistan, I think even Iranians might have some concern about the possibility of attacks. For example, Jundollah has created lot of ruckus in Iran oflate with random bomb blasts in city announcements, military parades and even Revolutionary Guard head office!
If ISI intends, they can establish contacts with these groups and create a problem in Chahbahar port. I don't think Iran would like ITBP troops on their soil or even our Coast Guard vessels. So better it is that we can supply them with some gear that can enable their patrolling for us a little bit smoother.
LETHALFORCE
Mod
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2009
- Messages
- 29,871
- Likes
- 48,535
Galaxy
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 7,086
- Likes
- 3,934
sob
Mod
- Joined
- May 4, 2009
- Messages
- 6,425
- Likes
- 3,805
We need to develop this port as fast as possible as this give us direct land access to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan. Also it is the only alternate port to Gwadar.
Looking at the long term implications, if and when there is a regime change in Iran, India then should act as a bridge between the west and Iran, so that NATO gets access to this route to supply it's troops in Afghanistan.
Looking at the long term implications, if and when there is a regime change in Iran, India then should act as a bridge between the west and Iran, so that NATO gets access to this route to supply it's troops in Afghanistan.
Galaxy
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 7,086
- Likes
- 3,934
A Chinese-Indian Rivalry for the Arabian Sea
By Christophe Jaffrelot
Sino-Indian rivalry in the Indian Ocean and India's naval cooperation with the US draw the world's attention. But quietly, out of sight, a contest has been building in the Arabian Sea centered between two ports, one based in Pakistan and the other in Iran. The first is backed by China, the second by India. The first, located in Gwadar, is intended to give China access to the Indian Ocean; the second, Chabahar, is supposed to connect India to Afghanistan and counter the first. The two ports represent longstanding rivalries in the region and anticipation for intense geo-strategic competition.
Gwadar, with its proximity to the vital sea lane between the Middle East and China, has strategic importance for China, especially for oil trade. If China wants to emancipate itself from transportation or military problems along Asia's southern coastline, direct access to the Indian Ocean may be the solution.
Direct access to the India Ocean would give China a strategic post of observation and a key location for its navy. While Myanmar and Sri Lanka can offer substantial support, the country that can best help Beijing is Pakistan because of its location and long-time friendship.
India, feeling encircled, reacted to this development. In his recent book on the Indian Ocean, journalist Robert Kaplan writes that "the Indians' answer to Sino-Pakistani cooperation at Gwadar was a giant new $8 billion naval base at Karwar, south of Goa on India's Arabian coast, the first phase of which opened in 2005."
Karwar was only one part of the response to Gwadar. The other one is Chabahar. In 2002 India helped Iran to develop the port of Chabahar, located 72 kilometers west of Gwadar, soon after China began work at Gwadar.
Chabahar should provide India with access to Afghanistan via the Indian Ocean. India, Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar.
Gwadar is located on the Gulf of Oman, close to the entrance of the Persian Gulf. Until 1958 it belonged to Oman, which gave this land to Pakistani rulers who expected that the location would contribute to what Kaplan calls "a new destiny."
When President Richard Nixon visited Pakistan in 1973, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sought US help to construct a new port at Gwadar, and reportedly offered the US Navy use of the facility. He was unsuccessful, and Pakistan then turned to China for help. Work started in 2002, and China has invested $200 million, dispatching 450 personnel for the first phase of the job completed in 2006 and resulting in a deep-sea port.
The Port of Singapore Authority was selected to manage Gwadar in 2007. But it did not invest much money, and Pakistan decided to transfer port management to another institution, not yet selected but which will probably be Chinese. On 6 November 2010 the Supreme Court of Pakistan asked the Gwadar Port Authority to seek cancellation of the concession agreement with the Port of Singapore Authority.
At the same time, Pakistan and China contemplate developing the Karakorum Highway to connect China's Xinjiang and Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. In 2006, a memorandum of understanding was signed between both countries to upgrade this road and connect Kashgar and Abbottabad. But the Karakorum Highway, the highest point of which passes at 4,693 meters, can open between May and December. It's also vulnerable to landslides, so large trucks may not use it easily.
Pakistan and China also discussed building a 3,000-kilometer rail line between Kashgar and Gwadar, during President Asif Ali Zardari's July 2010 visit with President Hu Jintao in Beijing. The cost would be enormous, up to $30 million per kilometer in the highest mountains.
In addition, Baluchistan is one of Pakistan's most unstable provinces today because of the development of a nationalist movement with separatist overtones. Insurgents have already kidnapped and killed Chinese engineers in Gwadar.
But China persists. More than a gateway to the Indian Ocean, Gwadar, at least, will provide Beijing with, first, a listening post from where the Chinese may exert surveillance on hyper-strategic sea links as well as military activities of the Indian and American navies in the region, and second, dual-use civilian-military facilities providing a base for Chinese ships and submarines.
For the Indians, this is a direct threat. The Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis recently published a report on Pakistan: the "Gwadar port being so close to the Straits of Hormuz also has implications for India as it would enable Pakistan to exercise control over energy routes. It is believed that Gwadar will provide Beijing with a facility to monitor US and Indian naval activity in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, respectively, as well as any future maritime cooperation between India and the US."
India responded by helping Iran with the port of Chabahar. Work on the Chabahar-Milak-Zaranj-Dilaram route from Iran to Afghanistan is in progress. India has already built the 213-kilometer Zaranj-Dilaram road in Afghanistan's Nimroz province and helps Iran to upgrade the Chabahar-Milak railroad. Developing railroads and port infrastructure near the border of Afghanistan could strengthen Iranian influence in Afghanistan, especially among the Shia and non-Pashtun ethnic groups.
However, this Indo-Iranian project is bound to suffer from two problems:
First, politically, Afghanistan is unstable and may not oblige Iran and India if the Taliban or any Pakistan-supported government is restored. Chabahar is also part of one of Iran's most volatile regions where anti-regime Sunni insurgents have launched repeated attacks.
Secondly, the work is far behind schedule. In July 2010, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohd Ali Fathollahi said the port was functional, but has a capacity of only 2.5 million tons per year, whereas the target was 12 million tons. Speeding work on the port was urged during the 16th Indo-Iranian Joint Commission meeting, attended by Iranian Finance Minister Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini and India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who pointed out that "Iran's assistance in developing the Chabahar port has been slow 'til now."
The connection between Gwadar and China remains distant, but could be the Suez Canal of the 21st century. At the minimum, this deep-sea port should provide Beijing with a strategic base soon.
The Chinese move prompted India to react - hence the development of Chabahar. But in developing this port, New Delhi must factor in US attempts at isolating Iran because of Tehran's nuclear policy. How far the Indo-Iranian rapprochement is compatible with the growing Indo-American alliance remains to be seen.
The US and India may agree on the need to counter growing Chinese influence in Gwadar, but may also disagree on the policy India wants to pursue by joining hands with Iran.
Iran itself may not want to take any risk at alienating China, a country which has supported Tehran, including its nuclear policy, until recently.
Christophe Jaffrelot is a senior research fellow with the Centre for International Studies and Research, Sciences Po/CNRS.
RealClearWorld - A Chinese-Indian Rivalry for the Arabian Sea
By Christophe Jaffrelot
Sino-Indian rivalry in the Indian Ocean and India's naval cooperation with the US draw the world's attention. But quietly, out of sight, a contest has been building in the Arabian Sea centered between two ports, one based in Pakistan and the other in Iran. The first is backed by China, the second by India. The first, located in Gwadar, is intended to give China access to the Indian Ocean; the second, Chabahar, is supposed to connect India to Afghanistan and counter the first. The two ports represent longstanding rivalries in the region and anticipation for intense geo-strategic competition.
Gwadar, with its proximity to the vital sea lane between the Middle East and China, has strategic importance for China, especially for oil trade. If China wants to emancipate itself from transportation or military problems along Asia's southern coastline, direct access to the Indian Ocean may be the solution.
Direct access to the India Ocean would give China a strategic post of observation and a key location for its navy. While Myanmar and Sri Lanka can offer substantial support, the country that can best help Beijing is Pakistan because of its location and long-time friendship.
India, feeling encircled, reacted to this development. In his recent book on the Indian Ocean, journalist Robert Kaplan writes that "the Indians' answer to Sino-Pakistani cooperation at Gwadar was a giant new $8 billion naval base at Karwar, south of Goa on India's Arabian coast, the first phase of which opened in 2005."
Karwar was only one part of the response to Gwadar. The other one is Chabahar. In 2002 India helped Iran to develop the port of Chabahar, located 72 kilometers west of Gwadar, soon after China began work at Gwadar.
Chabahar should provide India with access to Afghanistan via the Indian Ocean. India, Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar.
Gwadar is located on the Gulf of Oman, close to the entrance of the Persian Gulf. Until 1958 it belonged to Oman, which gave this land to Pakistani rulers who expected that the location would contribute to what Kaplan calls "a new destiny."
When President Richard Nixon visited Pakistan in 1973, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sought US help to construct a new port at Gwadar, and reportedly offered the US Navy use of the facility. He was unsuccessful, and Pakistan then turned to China for help. Work started in 2002, and China has invested $200 million, dispatching 450 personnel for the first phase of the job completed in 2006 and resulting in a deep-sea port.
The Port of Singapore Authority was selected to manage Gwadar in 2007. But it did not invest much money, and Pakistan decided to transfer port management to another institution, not yet selected but which will probably be Chinese. On 6 November 2010 the Supreme Court of Pakistan asked the Gwadar Port Authority to seek cancellation of the concession agreement with the Port of Singapore Authority.
At the same time, Pakistan and China contemplate developing the Karakorum Highway to connect China's Xinjiang and Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. In 2006, a memorandum of understanding was signed between both countries to upgrade this road and connect Kashgar and Abbottabad. But the Karakorum Highway, the highest point of which passes at 4,693 meters, can open between May and December. It's also vulnerable to landslides, so large trucks may not use it easily.
Pakistan and China also discussed building a 3,000-kilometer rail line between Kashgar and Gwadar, during President Asif Ali Zardari's July 2010 visit with President Hu Jintao in Beijing. The cost would be enormous, up to $30 million per kilometer in the highest mountains.
In addition, Baluchistan is one of Pakistan's most unstable provinces today because of the development of a nationalist movement with separatist overtones. Insurgents have already kidnapped and killed Chinese engineers in Gwadar.
But China persists. More than a gateway to the Indian Ocean, Gwadar, at least, will provide Beijing with, first, a listening post from where the Chinese may exert surveillance on hyper-strategic sea links as well as military activities of the Indian and American navies in the region, and second, dual-use civilian-military facilities providing a base for Chinese ships and submarines.
For the Indians, this is a direct threat. The Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis recently published a report on Pakistan: the "Gwadar port being so close to the Straits of Hormuz also has implications for India as it would enable Pakistan to exercise control over energy routes. It is believed that Gwadar will provide Beijing with a facility to monitor US and Indian naval activity in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, respectively, as well as any future maritime cooperation between India and the US."
India responded by helping Iran with the port of Chabahar. Work on the Chabahar-Milak-Zaranj-Dilaram route from Iran to Afghanistan is in progress. India has already built the 213-kilometer Zaranj-Dilaram road in Afghanistan's Nimroz province and helps Iran to upgrade the Chabahar-Milak railroad. Developing railroads and port infrastructure near the border of Afghanistan could strengthen Iranian influence in Afghanistan, especially among the Shia and non-Pashtun ethnic groups.
However, this Indo-Iranian project is bound to suffer from two problems:
First, politically, Afghanistan is unstable and may not oblige Iran and India if the Taliban or any Pakistan-supported government is restored. Chabahar is also part of one of Iran's most volatile regions where anti-regime Sunni insurgents have launched repeated attacks.
Secondly, the work is far behind schedule. In July 2010, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohd Ali Fathollahi said the port was functional, but has a capacity of only 2.5 million tons per year, whereas the target was 12 million tons. Speeding work on the port was urged during the 16th Indo-Iranian Joint Commission meeting, attended by Iranian Finance Minister Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini and India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who pointed out that "Iran's assistance in developing the Chabahar port has been slow 'til now."
The connection between Gwadar and China remains distant, but could be the Suez Canal of the 21st century. At the minimum, this deep-sea port should provide Beijing with a strategic base soon.
The Chinese move prompted India to react - hence the development of Chabahar. But in developing this port, New Delhi must factor in US attempts at isolating Iran because of Tehran's nuclear policy. How far the Indo-Iranian rapprochement is compatible with the growing Indo-American alliance remains to be seen.
The US and India may agree on the need to counter growing Chinese influence in Gwadar, but may also disagree on the policy India wants to pursue by joining hands with Iran.
Iran itself may not want to take any risk at alienating China, a country which has supported Tehran, including its nuclear policy, until recently.
Christophe Jaffrelot is a senior research fellow with the Centre for International Studies and Research, Sciences Po/CNRS.
RealClearWorld - A Chinese-Indian Rivalry for the Arabian Sea
agentperry
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2010
- Messages
- 3,022
- Likes
- 690
the major problem is that indian politicians are too much involved in internal politics that they dont get time for international politics, moreover they should become a broker of peace between iran and usa in order to make ties with both good and cosy. as usa and India both want access to central asia having good ties with iran will make both or atleast India getting upper hand. iran and pakistan were not good neighbor since long time but in past few months iran has walked mant extra mile to get closer to pakista by donating pakistan 100 million dollar in flood assistance and making pakistan part of IPI pipeline now restricted to IP pipeline only. India becoming broker of peace and dialogue will be on the model of china becoming the same for pakistan and the advantage china is getting is not hidden from anyone. but lets see how this govt with more emphasis on rai bareli seat than iran figure out a solution.
LETHALFORCE
Mod
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2009
- Messages
- 29,871
- Likes
- 48,535
US threatens Pakistan with sanctions over Iran gas pipeline deal
us-threatens-pakistan-with-sanctions-over-iran-gas-pipeline-deal-
I can't see this going ahead giving the sanctions on Iran. Any company that is investing in Iran or working on this project will be sanctioned as well and why would any Indian company take the risk. Until we get the green signal from Uncle Sam like we did with the Turkey sponsored Iranian oil payment, this will be stuck.
The other option is taking the Caspian sea route out of Turkey or maybe even working with China to evacuate minerals through their track and then into India via Tibet. Ofcourse there is always the option of using the one-way transit through Pakistan but without having alternative links Central Asia is pretty much out of India's reach at present.
The other option is taking the Caspian sea route out of Turkey or maybe even working with China to evacuate minerals through their track and then into India via Tibet. Ofcourse there is always the option of using the one-way transit through Pakistan but without having alternative links Central Asia is pretty much out of India's reach at present.
sob
Mod
- Joined
- May 4, 2009
- Messages
- 6,425
- Likes
- 3,805
ejazr, this is where Indian diplomacy will have to work very nimble footed. They have to convince Uncle Sam that unless India, a democratic country keeps engaged with Iran, it will otherwise leave the doors open to China. Iran in China's corner and getting full protection at the UN, like Sudan will be a big thorn for the US and it's allies in the GCC.
Also we need the Iranian route to Central Asian region, looking at the way developments are going on in Turkey. It always pays to keep options open and a pragmatic approach from both India and the US will reap the benefits in the future.
Also we need the Iranian route to Central Asian region, looking at the way developments are going on in Turkey. It always pays to keep options open and a pragmatic approach from both India and the US will reap the benefits in the future.
India, Iran to finalise working group on Chabahar project
India's shipping secretary K Mohandas, who is in Tehran, is set to finalise a joint working group on the Chabahar Port project with his Iranian counterpart. The Chabahar Port, which is New Delhi's strategic link to Af-Pak region, is just 72 km west of Pakistan's Gwadar port which is being built by China.
Making investments in the Chabahar Port on the Sistan-Balochistan province in Iran will give leverage to India in the region and by making it as an important transit link it will give India an access to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eurasia thereby reducing the landlocked Kabul's utter dependence on Pakistan. The Chabahar Port project is set to bypass Islamabad.
As reported by The Pioneer, Mohandas-led delegation is the first such high-level team visiting Iran over the port in a while. His visit will conclude on November 30.
Iran, which is in the midst of sanctions from the west over its alleged nuclear proliferation programme, believes that this port collaboration between Delhi and Tehran is the "minimum" that is necessary between the two countries for the development of the people and the region.
Chabahar could be a "multimodal link" port as the Chabahar-Bam Link will help in establishing link to Russia via Iran. Despite lukewarm relations between New Delhi and Tehran Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Fathollahi had visited India for three days in August to discuss a wide range of issues, including coordinated efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.
India's shipping secretary K Mohandas, who is in Tehran, is set to finalise a joint working group on the Chabahar Port project with his Iranian counterpart. The Chabahar Port, which is New Delhi's strategic link to Af-Pak region, is just 72 km west of Pakistan's Gwadar port which is being built by China.
Making investments in the Chabahar Port on the Sistan-Balochistan province in Iran will give leverage to India in the region and by making it as an important transit link it will give India an access to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eurasia thereby reducing the landlocked Kabul's utter dependence on Pakistan. The Chabahar Port project is set to bypass Islamabad.
As reported by The Pioneer, Mohandas-led delegation is the first such high-level team visiting Iran over the port in a while. His visit will conclude on November 30.
Iran, which is in the midst of sanctions from the west over its alleged nuclear proliferation programme, believes that this port collaboration between Delhi and Tehran is the "minimum" that is necessary between the two countries for the development of the people and the region.
Chabahar could be a "multimodal link" port as the Chabahar-Bam Link will help in establishing link to Russia via Iran. Despite lukewarm relations between New Delhi and Tehran Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Fathollahi had visited India for three days in August to discuss a wide range of issues, including coordinated efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
- Messages
- 24,324
- Likes
- 11,757
India to spread tentacles into Central Asia via Iran
NEW DELHI: India is making a concerted push into Central Asia by taking charge of a crucial transportation network through Iran into the region and beyond. After getting an enthusiastic thumbs up from 14 stakeholder countries in the region in January, experts from all the countries will meet in New Delhi on March 29 to put final touches to the project known as the International North-South Corridor.
The project envisages a multi-modal transportation network that connects ports on India's west coast to Bandar Abbas in Iran, then overland to Bandar Anzali port on the Caspian Sea; thence through Rasht and Astara on the Azerbaijan border onwards to Kazakhstan, and further onwards towards Russia. Once complete, this would connect Europe and Asia in a unique way -- experts estimate the distance could be covered in 25-30 days in what currently takes 45-60 days through the Suez Canal.
In the January meeting, Sanjay Singh (secretary east, MEA) and Rahul Khullar (commerce secretary) told Iran that India would take charge of the project, including building the missing sections of the railway and road link in Iran. Thanks to US sanctions on Iran's oil sector, India is finding it difficult to pay for its oil imports with hard currency. One of the best ways of paying for Iranian oil is through infrastructure projects like the corridor, which serves economic and strategic interests of all states concerned.
This has been a win-win proposition for India since the North-South Corridor agreement was signed between India, Iran and Russia in September 2000. But over the years, the project fell into disuse. Iran made little attempt to complete construction on its side, expending little political or administrative energy. Neither did Russia or India, which preferred to talk about it but did little to push it. Meanwhile, 11 other countries, including all the Central Asian states, joined up.
Several recent developments have changed India's timid approach. First, China has been building an extensive road and railway network through Central Asia, aiming to touch Europe. It's fast, efficient and already on the ground. While this has made Central Asia accessible to China and others, it is worrying these countries no end. Over the past few years, Central Asian states have repeatedly approached India to play the balancing role. Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan actually gave an oil block, Satpaev, to India on strategic considerations.
Second, with Pakistan in a state of almost chronic instability, India can never hope to access Central Asia through Pakistan. Its best bet remains Iran. While India will have to reduce oil imports from Iran, building a big-ticket infrastructure corridor is a reaffirmation of its commitment to the relationship.
Meena Singh Roy, senior fellow at IDSA, who is closely connected with the project, said, "The potential of this corridor will be manifold with India, Myanmar and Thailand getting linked by road. This will boost trade between Europe and South East Asia as well."
The North-South Corridor, which can be described as part of the "new great game", is now a battle for "power, hegemony, profits and resources", as a senior official put it. Quite apart from opening up new markets for India, the corridor could also be used to transport energy resources to India -- from oil, gas to uranium and other industrial metals.
In the forthcoming expert-level meetings in Delhi, Indian officials expect to finalize issues of customs and other commercial infrastructure. India has now agreed to provide all this expertise.
Simultaneously, India is eyeing two other transit and transportation networks from Central Asia -- all of them going through Iran. One is a Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan Corridor -- a 677-km railway line connecting these countries with Iran and the Persian Gulf. It will link Uzen in Kazakhstan with Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek in Turkmenistan and end at Gorgan in Iran's Golestan province.
The second comes in from Uzbekistan through northern Afghanistan, known as the Northern Distribution Network through which the US and NATO currently route 70% of their supplies for the ISAF forces. But after the US and NATO exit Afghanistan in 2014, India plans to extend this route to link up with the Zaranj-Delaram road that enters Iran.
India has been pushing Iran to complete construction of the Chahbahar port, which is crucial for these corridors to work to India's advantage. Iran has been notoriously slow in taking these up but India expects that in its current isolation, Iran could do a rethink.
http://m.timesofindia.com/india/India-to-spread-tentacles-into-Central-Asia-via-Iran/articleshow/12239197.cms
NEW DELHI: India is making a concerted push into Central Asia by taking charge of a crucial transportation network through Iran into the region and beyond. After getting an enthusiastic thumbs up from 14 stakeholder countries in the region in January, experts from all the countries will meet in New Delhi on March 29 to put final touches to the project known as the International North-South Corridor.
The project envisages a multi-modal transportation network that connects ports on India's west coast to Bandar Abbas in Iran, then overland to Bandar Anzali port on the Caspian Sea; thence through Rasht and Astara on the Azerbaijan border onwards to Kazakhstan, and further onwards towards Russia. Once complete, this would connect Europe and Asia in a unique way -- experts estimate the distance could be covered in 25-30 days in what currently takes 45-60 days through the Suez Canal.
In the January meeting, Sanjay Singh (secretary east, MEA) and Rahul Khullar (commerce secretary) told Iran that India would take charge of the project, including building the missing sections of the railway and road link in Iran. Thanks to US sanctions on Iran's oil sector, India is finding it difficult to pay for its oil imports with hard currency. One of the best ways of paying for Iranian oil is through infrastructure projects like the corridor, which serves economic and strategic interests of all states concerned.
This has been a win-win proposition for India since the North-South Corridor agreement was signed between India, Iran and Russia in September 2000. But over the years, the project fell into disuse. Iran made little attempt to complete construction on its side, expending little political or administrative energy. Neither did Russia or India, which preferred to talk about it but did little to push it. Meanwhile, 11 other countries, including all the Central Asian states, joined up.
Several recent developments have changed India's timid approach. First, China has been building an extensive road and railway network through Central Asia, aiming to touch Europe. It's fast, efficient and already on the ground. While this has made Central Asia accessible to China and others, it is worrying these countries no end. Over the past few years, Central Asian states have repeatedly approached India to play the balancing role. Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan actually gave an oil block, Satpaev, to India on strategic considerations.
Second, with Pakistan in a state of almost chronic instability, India can never hope to access Central Asia through Pakistan. Its best bet remains Iran. While India will have to reduce oil imports from Iran, building a big-ticket infrastructure corridor is a reaffirmation of its commitment to the relationship.
Meena Singh Roy, senior fellow at IDSA, who is closely connected with the project, said, "The potential of this corridor will be manifold with India, Myanmar and Thailand getting linked by road. This will boost trade between Europe and South East Asia as well."
The North-South Corridor, which can be described as part of the "new great game", is now a battle for "power, hegemony, profits and resources", as a senior official put it. Quite apart from opening up new markets for India, the corridor could also be used to transport energy resources to India -- from oil, gas to uranium and other industrial metals.
In the forthcoming expert-level meetings in Delhi, Indian officials expect to finalize issues of customs and other commercial infrastructure. India has now agreed to provide all this expertise.
Simultaneously, India is eyeing two other transit and transportation networks from Central Asia -- all of them going through Iran. One is a Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan Corridor -- a 677-km railway line connecting these countries with Iran and the Persian Gulf. It will link Uzen in Kazakhstan with Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek in Turkmenistan and end at Gorgan in Iran's Golestan province.
The second comes in from Uzbekistan through northern Afghanistan, known as the Northern Distribution Network through which the US and NATO currently route 70% of their supplies for the ISAF forces. But after the US and NATO exit Afghanistan in 2014, India plans to extend this route to link up with the Zaranj-Delaram road that enters Iran.
India has been pushing Iran to complete construction of the Chahbahar port, which is crucial for these corridors to work to India's advantage. Iran has been notoriously slow in taking these up but India expects that in its current isolation, Iran could do a rethink.
http://m.timesofindia.com/india/India-to-spread-tentacles-into-Central-Asia-via-Iran/articleshow/12239197.cms
thakur_ritesh
Ambassador
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2009
- Messages
- 4,435
- Likes
- 1,733
I am sure ToI could have thought of a better header than that.
This is pretty much the answer India seems to have given to the west on Iran and why we cant give up on them, along with the recent trade delegation visit to Iran. Its good to see a lot more assertive FP, and constructive from our PoV. If we route our exports through Iran, our exports' cost significantly declines and makes them more competitive, also the time taken gets cut by half, and we then have a much better chance on pushing our exports to CAR, and look for healthy trade relations with them.
One can hope this very important project doesnt get stuck too much in bureaucratic hurdles, and results in a delay.
This is pretty much the answer India seems to have given to the west on Iran and why we cant give up on them, along with the recent trade delegation visit to Iran. Its good to see a lot more assertive FP, and constructive from our PoV. If we route our exports through Iran, our exports' cost significantly declines and makes them more competitive, also the time taken gets cut by half, and we then have a much better chance on pushing our exports to CAR, and look for healthy trade relations with them.
One can hope this very important project doesnt get stuck too much in bureaucratic hurdles, and results in a delay.
