TEHRAN - The deputy transport minister of Tajikistan said her country is interested in investing at Iran’s Chabahar Port in logistics affairs.

In a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Urban Development Ali Akbar Safaei, Shayesta Moradzadeh emphasized the interest of her country in making investments at the port in logistics affairs.

She also hailed the good level of the bilateral trade and economic relations between Tehran and Dushanbe.

Moradzadeh pointed to the common historical and cultural backgrounds between Iran and Tajikistan and added that the trade and economic relations between the two countries have been on a growth trajectory, especially over the past two years.

Head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), for his part, pointed to the resolve of the current administration for the development of trade and economic cooperation with neighboring countries, especially with Persian-speaking states, and emphasized that Iran attaches great importance to enhancing transit and transport cooperation with the neighbors.

Safaei pointed out that very good trade awaits Chabahar Port in the future and presently, liner vessels take berth at its Shahid Beheshti Port from India and China directly.

The official welcomed the investment of Tajik private sector companies at Chabahar Port and added that Tajik investors will be allowed to transit their goods to other countries via Chabahar Port with the construction of a logistics compound at this strategic port.

As Iran's only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar Port holds great significance for the country both politically and economically. The country has taken serious measures for developing this port in order to improve the country’s maritime trade.

The port consists of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, each of which has five berth facilities. The port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province and is about 120 kilometers southwest of Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province, where the China-funded Gwadar port is situated.

In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement for the strategically-located Chabahar port to give New Delhi access to Kabul and Central Asia.

Later, based on a separate deal with Iran, India agreed to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.

Under the framework of the mentioned agreement, the Indian side has been operating in Shahid Beheshti port in the form of a build–operate–transfer (BOT) contract; this is the first time that such a contract has been implemented in one of the country's ports with 100 percent foreign investment.

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