The Speech of Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Relations at World Trade Center in Mumbai at the margin of 1-st India- Central Asia Joint Wo

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Relations Mehdi Safari has pitched for Chabahar port as key connectivity & trade route at the India Central Asia meeting that took place in Mumbai. The two-day meeting, which began on Wednesday, was the first meeting of the India - Central Asia Joint Working Group on Chabahar port development.

Already, Iran is building this natural gas pipeline to Oman, which can be extended to India up to Porbandhar," Safari said while speaking at an interactive meeting organised by MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai on Thursday evening. The text of His Speech is as follows:

The commercial ties between the two civilizational neighbors of Iran and India, like a thousand-year-old stream, has been going on since the ancient times and is a part of the history of the relations between the two nations. The complementarity of the two economies has made the majority of Iran's import needs to be met through India, and we can also be an important supplier of energy and other needs of India.

This capacity led to the realization of a trade record of 18 billion dollars in 2018. despite the shock of sanctions which caused a break in this increasing trend, the economic ties between Iran and India is again back to an increasing track, and I am happy that today India is among the 5 main trade partners of Iran. Our export to India have grown by 60% in 2022 and by 90% during the first couple of months this year. It implies replacing non-oil exports in the trade of the two countries.

In the field of investment, we also see the enthusiasm of Indian companies in Iran's business environment. Especially Mining projects, Steel, Agriculture, and recently Technology and Innovation, in addition to Petrochemicals & etc are among the interests of Indian investors in Iran.

In particular, Chabahar Free Zone is of a high advantage for Indian economic actors. The development of Shahid Beheshti port with the investment of the Indian government is on the agenda and of course we expect the project process to be accelerated. But besides, there are many opportunities for the private sector to invest in Infrastructure, Tourism facilities, as well as Manufacturing projects in this region.

In addition, the southern ports of Iran, including Chabahar, as the gateway to the INSTC corridor, provide India with access to the Central Asian, Caucasian and European markets.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite Mr. Kalantari and the members of the Mumbai WTC and “All India Association of Industries” to mobilize a delegation to participate in “Iran Expo 2023” in Tehran from May 7 to 10 which provides the first hand opportunity for match making between the potential partners in 11 main categories. The Indian companies are invited to enjoy Iranian hospitality with visa/accommodation facilities on this occasion.