India-Iran Archives - Iran News Daily

India long-term Strategy to Purchase Iran’s Oil

reporter 1222 — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 05:00:56 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The long-term strategy of India is to purchase Iran’s oil, as large refineries in the South Asian country have been built in accordance with the Iranian oil’s quality, said the Indian ambassador to Tehran.

Gaddam Dharmendra told IRNA on Friday that Indian refineries have suffered losses due to not buying Iranian oil.

“Iran is our reliable partner and we want to maintain our relations.”

India and Iran are currently cooperating in the field of transportation within the framework of developing the southeastern Iranian port of Chabahar, he said, adding, “We have a partnership with the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran and are committed to its expansion.”

In terms of the banking and financial relations, the two countries’ central banks are in contact with each other and developing their ties, the envoy said, noting that a rupee-rial financial mechanism was activated by India and Iran prior to any other financial mechanism.

“We want the trade relations between the two countries to go beyond [exchanging] agricultural products, such as tea and rice, and include exports of engineering services.”

The two countries are preparing and finalizing a preferential trade agreement, said the official, adding that recently, the Iranian Parliament approved an agreement between Iran and India to avoid double taxation.

“We believe that these documents will facilitate trade relations between the two countries,” he noted.

Commenting on the impacts of Washington’s unilateral sanctions on cooperation between New Delhi and Tehran in developing the southeastern Iranian port, the ambassador said India has explained to the US about Chabahar port’s development and the contribution this transport corridor can make to the process of providing assistance to Afghanistan.

He added, “They have been convinced. As a result, Chabahar has been exempted from US sanctions against Iran. We consider this a unique achievement for India.”

Dharmendra noted that India is interested in participating in this project and looks forward to continuing expert and technical negotiations in this regard.

Due to the decrease in energy transactions between India and Iran, the level of bilateral trade has dropped compared to the past, he said.

“Our initial estimate of the value of [annual] trade between Iran and India in the current year is $3.4 billion. Of course, we have to wait for the official figure to be announced,” the envoy noted.

“Our effort is to bring the two countries’ chambers of commerce closer together to discuss maintaining the level of trade relations,” he concluded.

The post India long-term Strategy to Purchase Iran’s Oil appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Assembly of Experts: India Must Stop Anti-Muslim Violence

reporter 1222 — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 06:33:01 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Assembly of Experts issued a statement on Tuesday calling on the India government to stop the violence against Muslims and prevent the fire of division in the South Asian country.

“The unfortunate news and heartbreaking images from the bloody conditions of the oppressed Muslims of India, which are released at a minimal level, make the heart of every noble-minded human very sad,” read the statement by Assembly of Experts, signed by its chairman Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati.

The assembly decries the killings of the people and the destruction of mosques and religious places of the Indian Muslims, it added.

The high-ranking body further called on the Indian government to take swift measures to end the violence against Muslims.

Violence erupted in the Indian capital in late February, leading to a three-day-long rampage, with Hindu mobs attacking Muslim homes, shops, and mosques.

The attacks were carried out on protesters who have been rallying against a new citizenship law after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra threatened peaceful sit-ins would be removed from the streets.

The anti-Muslim violence in Delhi killed at least 50 people.

It was the worst violence in Delhi since 1984 when more than 3,000 Sikh minorities were killed following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The post Assembly of Experts: India Must Stop Anti-Muslim Violence appeared first on Iran News Daily.

India Foreign Minister due in Iran tomorrow

reporter 1222 — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 05:32:09 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – India Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is scheduled to arrive in Tehran tomorrow for a two-day visit.

In Tehran, India foreign minister, Jaishankar will attend the 19th Joint Commission meeting between Iran and India, which will be co-chaired by Indian and Iranian foreign ministers.

The visit comes two days after a commission formed by Iran, India, and Afghanistan to oversee the Chabahar agreement, held its second meeting in India’s capital New Delhi on Friday.

The three countries agreed to finalize a protocol to streamline transit, customs and consular matters at the Chabahar port, located on the Sea of Oman in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

“All three countries welcomed steady progress in port operations by India Ports Global Company since the taking over of the port operations at Shaheed Beheshti port at Chabahar in December 2018,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, PTI reported.

It was recognized that over 500,000 tons of cargo have been handled successfully. This includes exports from Afghanistan through Chabahar port which began in February 2019, the statement said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs informed that it was also agreed to include Mormugoa and New Mangalore port from India, in addition to JNPT, Mundra, Kandla, and Cochin, as part of the designated route under the Chabahar agreement.

“A study will be conducted by Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) to streamline cargo transit through Shahid Beheshti port of Chabahar,” said the Ministry of External Affairs.

It was also agreed to finalize the protocol to harmonize transit, roads, customs, and consular matters. Until that time, the TIR Convention will continue to be used for cargo movement.

The Ministry of External Affairs in its statement said it was agreed to organize promotional and business events in Afghanistan and India to popularize Chabahar port and to hold the third Follow-up Committee meeting in India in the first half of 2020 followed by the second Coordination Council meeting.

India, Afghanistan, and Iran signed the trilateral transit agreement or the Chabahar agreement in May 2016. India, which sees the Iranian port as key to bypassing Pakistan to access markets in Afghanistan and Central Asia, took over operations at Shahid Beheshti terminal in Chabahar in December 2018 through a special purpose.

Recently, the United States provided a rare exemption to India from sanctions on the Chabahar port as it recognizes that the strategic project is a lifeline for war-torn Afghanistan to get humanitarian supplies from India, according to a senior US administration official on Wednesday.

The post India Foreign Minister due in Iran tomorrow appeared first on Iran News Daily.