Chabahar deal gets Obama administration's nod

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration on Tuesday batted for India with regards to New Delhi's energy initiative with Iran and Afghanistan via Chabahar, amid residual suspicion and misgivings among some lawmakers whether there could be a strategic and military dimension to the tripartite agreement.

US Senators closely examined Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal on the Chabahar deal during a hearing where the official said Washington recognised that from New Delhi's perspective, Iran represents a gateway into Afghanistan and Central Asia. She said that she had not seen any sign of Indian engagement with Tehran in areas such as military cooperation, which might be of concern to the United States.

“For India to be able to contribute to the economic development of Afghanistan, it needs access that it does not readily have across its land boundary. And India is seeking to deepen its energy relationship with the Central Asian countries and looking for routes that would facilitate that,“ Desai-Biswal told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assuring members that the Obama administration has been “very clear with Indians over what our security concerns have been and we would continue to engage them on those issues.“

“They (Indians) have been very responsive to our briefings, to what we believe the lines are. And we have to examine the details of the Chabahar announcement to see where it falls in that place,“ she added.While some senators wanted to know if the deal to develop the port violated any sanctions against Iran, others wanted to know if India was ready to sign a formal security cooperation agreement with the US during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Washington next month.