New Delhi, February 14: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will be on a three-day visit to India from Thursday during which he will discuss the “latest regional and global developments” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders.
“The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani will pay a state visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi from February 15-17, 2018. During the forthcoming visit of the President of Iran, both sides would review the progress achieved in bilateral relations and also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest,” said the Ministry of External Affairs.
Apart from holding extensive talks with Modi and other Indian leaders on key bilateral and regional issues, Rouhani is scheduled to deliver a special address at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on Saturday.
This will be the first visit by Rouhani, who is the seventh President of Iran, after taking charge in August 2013.
During the meetings, Rouhani and Indian leaders will discuss “the latest regional and global developments and the finalisation and exploitation of Chabahar port as soon as possible that can be very effective for bilateral trade in the region and mutual access of Afghanistan to regional and international markets”, according to the media report.
During Modi’s bilateral visit to Iran in May 2016, nearly a dozen pacts were signed between the two countries. The Trilateral Transit Agreement (Chabahar Agreement) was also signed by the three transport ministers of India, Iran and Afghanistan in the presence of Modi, Rouhani and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The contract entails capital investment of US $85 million by India for equipping the Chabahar port in southeastern Iran.
India and Iran have robust economic and commercial ties covering many sectors though it has traditionally been dominated by Indian import of Iranian crude oil and the country continued to engage with Iran at the time of sanctions.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India-Iran bilateral trade during the fiscal year 2016-17 was US $12.89 billion. India imported US $10.5 billion worth of goods mainly crude oil and exported commodities worth US $2.4 billion.
With inputs from PTI