National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval recently visited Iran to discuss economic, political, and security ties between the two countries. Doval held wide-ranging talks with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Shamkhani, and also scheduled to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
The two officials discussed crucial economic, political, and security issues concerning the two countries, as well as the most important regional and international developments. Iran's IRNA news agency reported on the visit, although neither India nor Iran has issued an official statement yet.
The visit comes ahead of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Goa this week. India is the current chair of the SCO, and Iran is set to be made a permanent member of the grouping at its annual summit later this year.
The implementation of the Chabahar Port project in Iran is a key focus area in the bilateral ties between New Delhi and Tehran. The Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran, and Afghanistan to boost connectivity and trade ties. At a connectivity conference in Tashkent in 2021, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar projected the port as a key regional transit hub.
Iranian Ambassador Iraj Elahi strongly pitched for faster implementation of the Chabahar port project and the use of the facility by India to send various shipments, saying the key transit hub would benefit both countries. He also said that there is a need to look at the Chabahar project beyond economic perspectives.
Elahi also sought the resumption of crude oil imports by India from Iran, citing New Delhi not succumbing to pressure from Western powers to not continue procurement of petroleum products from Russia following the Ukraine crisis.
India stopped procuring crude oil from Iran after the US did not continue with sanction waivers to India and several other countries. The visit of NSA Ajit Doval to Iran is a step towards strengthening the bilateral ties between the two countries and exploring new opportunities for economic and political cooperation.
