NEW DELHI: India, Iran and Afghanistan will hold talks on giving greater access to landlocked Afghanistan, a move that could also ease Iran's isolation in the region, Indian officials said yesterday.
The three countries were to meet yesterday to discuss how best to utilize the southeastern Iranian port of Chahbahar and develop road and rail links from there to Afghanistan, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters.
As NATO troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014, India fears the possibility of the country falling into the hands of a Taleban-led regime, thus endangering many of India's interests there.
India has been one of the largest contributors of development aid to Afghanistan. Over the past decade, it has spent more than $2 billion to help build infrastructure, including roads, power projects and hospitals.
For India the shortest and most economical route for sending supplies to Afghanistan would be by road through Pakistan, but its decades-long rival has denied New Delhi road access to Kabul, making the route through Iran all the more significant.
Iran is also hoping to develop an industrial zone near Chahbahar port and wants to attract foreign investment to set up industries there, Mathai said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who will be in Tehran to attend a summit, is to hold bilateral talks with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the sidelines.
Iran draws India closer with talks on Afghanistan
