The two officials discussed economic, political and security issues concerning the two countries…reports Asian Lite News
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Monday held talks with his Iranian counterpart Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported Iran’s IRNA news agency.
The two officials discussed economic, political and security issues concerning the two countries as well as the most important regional and international developments. Doval is scheduled to hold talks with Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian at noon, reported IRNA.
India-Iran relations span through centuries and are marked by meaningful interactions.
Iran is located at a strategic and crucial geographical location between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea.
Iran is important to India as it provides an alternate route of connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics, in the absence of permission for India to use the land route through Pakistan.
It sits on one of the largest deposits of crude oil and natural gas in the world.
Iran and India closely cooperated in supporting the Northern Alliance government in Afghanistan against the Taliban in the 1990s.
India and Iran both face the threat of terrorism by outfits like Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Hence, there is a need for cooperation on this issue.
Iran has emerged as India’s most viable transit option for trade with Central Asia and Russia. India, Russia, and Iran signed an agreement in 2000 for sending Indian Cargo to Russia via Iran through a ‘North-South Corridor’.
International North-South Corridor which is a ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe, and Central Asia and aims to provide the shortest multi-model transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and St Petersburg.
The visit of Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, Ali Bagheri Kani, to New Delhi in 2021 manifested a new chapter of relations between the traditional allies, India and Iran.
The visit was in alignment with the “Asia-oriented” foreign policy of the new Iranian government.
Increased use of rial and rupee
Shamkhani has called for increased use of the rial and rupee in trade with India, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
In a meeting with Doval in Tehran, Shamkhani said using national currencies in bilateral trade between Iran with India would help the two countries reach their joint economic objectives. During the meeting, Shamkhani and Doval discussed economic, political, and security issues concerning Iran and India as well as the most important regional and international developments, IRNA reported.
Stating that improved Iran-India ties are not against any other country and are not affected by the will of third parties, he underlined that global and regional developments had created very good conditions to strengthen interactions between the two countries in the field of energy, transportation and transit, technology, and banking.
Welcoming the role played by India in regional and international developments, Shamkhani highlighted that Iran considers the active participation of New Delhi in political, economic, and security initiatives with the participation of the countries of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf region as necessary and helpful, IRNA reported.
Doval, for his part, said that the deep influence of Iranian culture in the daily life of the Indians is a sign of deep ties between the two nations.
Doval added that the recent agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to normalize their diplomatic ties would have profound regional effects on changing relations in the international system.
Emphasizing the need for cooperation between Iran and India to boost stability in Afghanistan, the Indian official said the two countries should work together to eradicate Takfiri terrorism in the country, IRNA reported.
He said India considers Chabahar port, in southeastern Iran, as a gateway for increased cooperation between Iran and India. (ANI)