Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar, who visited Iran from Nov. 6 through at least Nov. 9, urged Iran to use the capacities of Iran’s southern ports, especially Chabahar, to facilitate trade from landlocked Afghan through Chabahar port on the Arabian Sea to the rest of the world. Afghanistan’s neighbor to the west is Iran. Afghanistan can ship goods to Iran, which goods would then head south through Iran to its Chabahar port, on the Gulf of Oman.
From there, the goods would be shipped 70 km across the Gulf of Oman to Mumbai, India, and thence eastward to all of Asia. For Afghanistan, it would constitute the fastest, and least costly route, bypassing Pakistan, to Asia. Mulla Baradar called for trilateral cooperation among Afghanistan, Iran and India. On Nov. 9, he said, “In addition to upholding neighborly necessities, developing cooperation with Iran is a conscious choice for us, and we want to develop this cooperation in various fields, especially economically and commercially. We are prepared and will maintain friendly relations with Iran.” He added that “connecting to Chabahar port will grant Afghanistan access to markets in Europe, the Middle East, India, and China, thereby strengthening Afghanistan’s global relations,” as reported in a statement released by Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
