India is banking on Afghanistan to insulate Iranian port Chabahar from the impending US sanctions. After the recent 2+2 talks, the US officials said they will "review" India's request, but continued to press for "zero out" oil imports from Iran. The issue came up at the first-ever trilateral meeting between Iran, India and Afghanistan in Kabul on Tuesday. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale represented India to hold talks with deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan Hekmat Khalil Karzai and Iranian deputy minister Abbas Araghchi.
India and Afghanistan are engaging the US, though separately, to appraise the strategic significance of this port for the stability of the war-torn country, where the US military is fighting a war against the Taliban. According to President Ashraf Ghani's spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri, a series of discussions have been held over the past few months with Iranian and Indian officials regarding the possibility of a waiver on the section of Chabahar Port that will directly connect India with Afghanistan. In the second phase of sanctions, scheduled to come into effect in November, Iran's ports and crude oil exports will be affected.
Both India and Afghanistan draw hope from the fact that the US last month granted a waiver for the Azerbaijan natural gas pipeline. The Southern Gas Corridor received the waiver from US sanctions against Iran's energy customers. The project, designed to transport Caspian natural gas to Turkey and southern Europe, is bypassing Russia.
A joint statement issued at the end of the tripartite meeting said the meeting focused on consolidating economic cooperation, including Chabahar. The first consignment of wheat assistance to Afghanistan through Chabahar was flagged off on October 29, 2017. The countries expressed commitment to "continue to support to the peace and reconciliation process that is led and owned by Afghanistan". The next round of consultation will take place in India in 2019.
The meeting also focused on consolidating economic cooperation, as well as enhancing cooperation on counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and continuing support to the peace and reconciliation process that is led and owned by Afghanistan. The three sides agreed to hold the next round of consultation at an appropriate time in India in 2019.
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 "Hassan Rouhani at Chabahar Port in Iran")
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