Iran Foreign Minister visit: India to discuss setting up urea and uranium plants in Persian Gulf

NEW DELHI: India is looking forward to Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zharif's trip here this Friday — the first high-level bilateral engagement since the nuclear deal— to not only understand finer points of the deal but also pitch for setting up urea and aluminum plants in the Persian Gulf country besides the under sea gas pipeline.

With key members of the international community, particularly from Europe, rushing to Iran amid falling Euro to explore market opportunities, India too is keen to take ties to the next level— that could not make headway under sanctions— as soon as the embargo is lifted. There are speculations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might visit Tehran in the near future.

Zharif will not only hold political discussions with MEA and his Indian counterpart explaining contours of the deal but also hold meetings with finance, commerce and oil ministries. Two connectivity projects— Chabahar Port and International North South Corridor— will also top the agenda of discussions. India is investing $100 m in the port for expansion where China has already made major headway. Chabahar holds strategic significance for India as gateway to Afghanistan. The corridor is India’s gateway to resource-rich Central Asia and Russia. India has signed a MoU to develop Chabahar Port this year but a commercial accord has yet to be inked to start the project. While India will seek to increase oil imports from Iran, a key area of partnership could be Indian investments.