Amir Abdollahian visit to India postponed
TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian’s visit to India has been postponed as his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has contracted coronavirus, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh broke the story on Friday.
Khatibzadeh wished good health for the Indian foreign minister and announced that the visit of the top Iranian diplomat to India will remain on the agenda.
Amir Abdollahian told reporters on the sidelines of a national conference on Iran and neighbors last week that he will travel to India and Sri Lanka next week.
“In this trip, we will pursue several goals. First, my counterpart has traveled to Iran twice in the last four months, and we have political and economic relations with India, and various political, economic and technological cooperation issues are underway between the two countries,” he stated.
He also felicitated India on its National Day in a tweet, writing, “The most sincere wishes to my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, Mr. Jaishankar, as well as the government and people of the Republic of India to celebrate Republic Day in this country. We will continue our efforts to expand relations as much as possible and comprehensively at the bilateral, regional and international levels.”
According to the Economic Times, the agenda of the Iranian foreign minister's maiden visit to India will include the Afghan situation, transit to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Iran’s Chabahar Port, and current developments in West Asia.
Besides, a preferential trade agreement with Iran is on the cards. India is keen to push the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for connectivity to Russia via Iran.