Briefing the media on Saturday, Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said that during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the summit of the eight-nation Shanghai cooperation Organisation (SCO), the two leaders hoped to supplement their connectivity through the Chabahar port with the establishment of industrial parks and an investment zone in Uzbekistan.
Mr. Gokhale said that Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister would be visiting New Delhi shortly to work out details and prepare for Mr. Mirziyoyev’s visit to India later this year.
The Chabahar port, located in Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran southern coast, provides India with access to four cities in Afghanistan.
India has committed to invest $ 500 million to develop the Chabahar port of Iran. The first phase of the port was opened in December last year with the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and representatives from India and other countries of the region.
India sent Afghanistan's first wheat cargo to Afghanistan a short time ago through the Chabahar port.
Yesterday Mr. Modi is expected hold a “pull-aside” meeting with Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran — Iran has stepped its diplomatic engagement with the emerging economies of India, China and Russia, as well as the European Union (EU) to counter a slew of sanctions from the United States, which has walked out of the Iran nuclear deal.
last month The United States left in a unilateral decision on Iran's nuclear deal and Imposed new sanctions against the country.
Iran is one of the major oil exporters to India,but hard currency payments are now likely to be impeded on account of the USA administration’s unilateral move.
According to Indian authorities, New Delhi is interested in expanding its relations with Central Asian countries.Meanwhile, Modi's met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting with presidents of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
An Indian official said: "We want to declare to the countries of Central Asia that cooperation with them is very valuable to India."
"We are looking to expand cooperation with China and Russia in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," he said.
The role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has expanded in recent years, and has become a similar Asian-NATO force to regional cooperation in the fields of security, politics and economics.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting The first foreign visit of Iran's President, Hassan Rouhani, after the decision of Donald Trump to withdraw from the nuclear deal in May. Russia, China and several European countries have opposed this move.
This is the first time that India participates as a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organ
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization for multilateral, security, economic and cultural cooperation. Founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The leading role is in the Shanghai organization, the two countries of China and Russia.
The admission of the four countries of Mongolia, Iran, India and Pakistan in 2004 as observer members was one of the important measures of the organization.