PM Modi and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi may hold maiden meet on SCO sidelines

While all eyes are on a possible meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and Xi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand between September 15 and 16 on the sidelines of the SCO Summit, the eight-member group will be expanded to nine with Iran's formal admission, boosting New Delhi's Eurasian outreach.

Modi might meet the Iranian President in Samarkand in what would be their maiden meeting since Ebrahim Raisi was elected the Iranian leader in 2021. A big visit to boost Indo-Iranian ties is also on the cards, ET has learnt. The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday announced that Modi will hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of his two-day visit. This could include a meeting between Modi and Raisi.

Ahead of the SCO Summit, there has been a flurry of engagements between New Delhi and Tehran with focus on strengthening connectivity mechanisms, especially INSTC & Chabahar Port. Iran is central to India's plan to increase engagement with Russia and Central Asia besides remaining part of Eurasia. ET has learnt that Russia, Iran and Azerbaizan are entering into a trilateral arrangement to smoothen functioning of the INSTC.


The value of Iran's exports to India increased by 35% in the first seven months of 2022, from the same period of time in 2021. Iran exported commodities worth $361 million to India in the seven-month period of this year, while the figure was $267 million in the same time span of the past year. Bulk of this was food items. During the January-July period, India's export to Iran rose 54% to $1.243 billion, while the figure was $807 million in the first seven months of 2021.

India is expanding its maritime partnership with Iran alongside the recent moves to boosting infrastructure at Chabahar Port. The Iranian government is also ready to conclude a long-term contract with India, prioritising the development of transit of goods through the port.