Iran on Friday said that the trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan on the strategic Chabahar port was “not finished” and Pakistan and China were welcome to join it, Pakistani media quoted Iranian envoy as saying.
PTI reported that the Chabahar port agreement between Iran, India and Afghanistan was “not finished” and “not limited to these three countries.”
Dawn newspaper quoted Iranian envoy in Islamabad, Mehdi Honerdoost, that the offer to cooperate had first been extended to Pakistan and then China, implying neither had expressed interest.
He was speaking on Pakistan-Iran relations at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad (ISSI).
He said, “The deal is not finished. We are waiting for new members. Pakistan, our brotherly neighbours and China, a great partner of the Iranians and a good friend of Pakistan, are both welcome. India was a good friend during the sanctions, the only country to import oil from us during sanctions.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, had signed a “milestone” pact on the strategic Chabahar port in southern Iran which will give India access to Afghanistan and Europe bypassing Pakistan.
Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Balochistan Province on the energy-rich Persian Gulf nation’s southern coast, lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India’s western coast, bypassing Pakistan.
(Photo: Indian Express)