Uzbekistan says it plans to hold a second trilateral meeting with Iran and India to discuss the joint use of Chabahar port on Iran's Makran coast for trade and transit.
The first virtual meeting of the trilateral working group was held last December. The three sides will set the date for the second meeting, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Furkat Sidikov has said on the sidelines of a roundtable on foreign policy issues in Tashkent.
Senior officials have said Uzbekistan will push ahead with the joint plan with India and Iran to promote connectivity through the Chabahar port, as part of the country’s efforts to improve and diversify access to sea routes for trade.
Sidikov indicated that the recent developments in Afghanistan would not have any impact on the plans of the three countries.
India is also part of a trilateral agreement with Iran and Afghanistan to develop Chabahar as the port can hugely transform trade through Iran between India and Afghanistan and other landlocked countries in the Central Asia region.
The map shows the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route
India has gained a waiver from US sanctions on Iran over the specific work in Chabahar. However, Indian government agencies and companies have failed to meet some of their obligations regarding the construction of a railway connecting the port to areas near the Iranian border with Afghanistan.
India’s Ambassador to Tehran Gaddam Dharmendra said last July that New Delhi would not be dictated by the US how it should cooperate with Iran on Chabahar Port.
“The fact [is] that we are working in Chabahar, we are buying equipment for Chabahar, we are preparing for Chabahar, we have told the Americans they cannot tell us what to do on Chabahar,” said Dharmendra, according to a transcription provided by the Hindustan Times.