In May 2024, India signed a 10-year agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran to manage the strategically located Iranian port of Chabahar, which is the first overseas port an Indian company is managing, aimed at facilitating expanded trade with Central Asia. This long-term agreement is critical to India’s economic and geopolitical strategy for Central Asia and beyond. Hence, the port is geopolitically and geo-economically highly crucial for India. At the same time, it is a significant component of INSTC. The article will trace the evolution and examine the significance of the INSTC multi-modal project keeping special focus on India’s stake in Chabahar Port. International North-South Transport Corridor The idea of the project was first mooted in 2000 in St. Petersburg by Iran, Russia and India. The 7200-km long corridor is a multi-modal transportation project in order to build a transport network linking Russia’s Baltic Sea coast to India’s western ports in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran. In 2002, Russia, India and Iran signed preliminary agreements to develop the inter-continental International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).The INSTC was eventually expanded to other countries and ratified by 13 countries — India, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine. Bulgaria joined the project as an observer state. Despite the perceived potential and the eagerness exhibited by the member countries, the implementation of the project experienced minimal progress for an extended period. One of the contributing factors to the sluggish advancement was the Western sanctions (especially the United States) imposed on Iran due to its nuclear program. Other nations and their respective private corporations resisted substantial investments in Iran, driven by the apprehension of potential third-party sanctions from the United States. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, followed by the subsequent imposition of Western sanctions, has fostered a closer alignment between Moscow and Tehran, thereby injecting a renewed impetus into the INSTC. The 10-year agreement between India and Iran on the Chabahar Port is a significant step towards global connectivity. The long-term agreement between India and Iran brings……
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