India and the Chabahar port

This route benefits India as it will have land access to Central Asia and Afghanistan for its trade.

On May 13, India signed a 10-year contract for operationalising the Shahid Behesti Terminal of Chabahar, a port on Iran’s southwestern coast that would provide India with a vital connection to Central Asian Republics (CARs), Afghanistan and further to Europe through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). In 2003, India expressed interest in developing the port, but a formal agreement was not signed. A trilateral general cooperation framework on Chabahar between Iran, India and Afghanistan was signed only in 2016.