Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries said given the recent facilities provided for investment in Iran’s southeastern port city of Chabahar, 150 Afghan traders have expressed willingness to invest in the free trade zone.
The Chabahar port has great potential for profitability for Afghan investors, a spokesman for the ministry said on Sunday.
Currently 150 Afghan traders have announced their readiness to invest in the port, he stated.
The spokesman added that the Islamic Republic of Iran has provided the required facilities for investment in the free trade zone.
Back in May, Iran, India and Afghanistan inked a trilateral agreement to establish an international transit corridor, passing through Chabahar.
The deal was signed by the road ministers of the three countries at a ceremony in Tehran on May 23, attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi.
The agreement is aimed at bringing about a considerable increase in transit via Chabahar, linking India to central Asia via Afghanistan, and helping Afghanistan have access to the sea.
Iran and India had agreed in 2003 to develop the Port of Chabahar.
The project was, however, suspended following the imposition of sanctions against Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.
In May 2014, India and Iran signed an MoU to jointly develop the port once the international sanctions against Iran were terminated.
Sanctions against Iran were lifted after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on January 16 started implementing a nuclear agreement they had finalized on June 14, 2015.
The Chabahar route will allow Indian goods to reach Afghanistan via the Iranian port of Chabahar without crossing Pakistan’s territory.
Chabahar is located in the Gulf of Oman on the border with Pakistan. It is the closest and best access point of Iran to the Indian Ocean and Iran has devised serious plans to turn it into a transit hub for immed iate access to markets in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.