The second technical meeting on Chabahar Transit and Transport Agreement was held in India and provided the draft for the tripartite agreement among Iran, India and Afghanistan. This was a very tight matter for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomacy as it involved two rival Islamic nations, both rich in energy resources.

Aiming to form international transport and transit corridors among the Republic of India, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the second technical meeting on Chabahar Transit and Transport Agreement dealt with incomplete issues of the first meeting held in Tehran in September 2015.

Key facts:

• This was a second meeting between India, Afghanistan and Iran, which hold a trilateral cooperation for providing alternative access to seas to Afghanistan, meaning its trade with India.

• Saudi Arabia’s link with Pakistan and India’s ties with Iran has always India’s relation with the region

• Saudi Arabia is the largest oil supplier for India, having supplied 34.49 million tons of crude oil last year.

• Iran also holds the fourth largest proven reserves of crude oil after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Canada

• The location of Chabahar port is a great economic significance for the regional countries which are geopolitically landlocked and for access to the commercial ports traverse long ways.