A trade delegation from Iran is due to pay a visit to India this week to pave the grounds for boosting trade between the two countries, Head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Gholam Hossein Shafei, said on Tuesday.
“The upcoming visit is aimed at resolving transit problems between the two countries,” he was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying.
The delegation seeks to resolve the problems faced by Indian transit vehicles in transferring goods like cement, Shafei added.
The veteran businessman further said that India’s share in transit activities in Iran’s southeast Chabahar Port would be another issue to be discussed during the visit.
Iranian officials recently announced that India is determined to go ahead with its plans to invest in the Iranian port city of Chabahar.
Iran’s Chabahar Port, located 72 kilometers (44 miles) west of Pakistan’s Gwadar port, holds immense strategic and economic significance for India. It is already connected to the city of Zaranj in Afghanistan’s southwestern province of Nimruz and can serve as India’s entry point to Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond.
Shafei further noted that Iran is trying to act as a route for transferring Indian goods to the Central Asian countries.
Trade ties between Iran and India is on the rise with export of engineering products to Iran increasing dramatically.
In July this year, trade between the two sides amounted to $177 million, indicating an increase of around 140 percent. Last year, the figure only stood at $52 million.
Earlier on December 2014, an Iranian official in India announced the opening of an unlimited credit line between an Indian bank and eight Iranian banks to facilitate bilateral trade.
