TEHRAN ( WNAM MONITORING ): Iran, India, and Armenia have held talks to discuss increased cooperation on issues of interest, including on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
The trilateral talks held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Monday, also covered discussions on issues like Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, while the parties highlighted the strategic position of Iran’s Chabahar Port and its role in the increased transport activity on the INSTC, according to a statement from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Press TV.
The meeting was the third of its kind, following earlier sessions held in Yerevan in April 2023 and in New Delhi in December 2024, the statement said, adding that delegates reviewed progress since those meetings and stressed the need to expand ties in communications, trade, culture, and other fields of mutual interest.
The delegates, led by Mohammad Reza Bahrami of Iran, Anand Prakash of India, and Armenia’s Anahit Karapetyan, agreed to hold their next trilateral meeting on an agreed date in Armenia next year, it said.
The INSTC is an emerging cargo transit route connecting Indian Ocean countries to Central Asia, Russia, and Europe, which is becoming increasingly popular due to its economic and geopolitical benefits.
Iran has introduced major plans to increase activity on the INSTC, including massive development projects in its only ocean port of Chabahar, located on the Sea of Oman coast in the southeast of the country, as well as in roads connecting the port to other trade hubs.
India has also contributed to development projects in Chabahar, although statements from Iranian officials have shown that the country is not happy with the pace of Indian investment and equipment supply to the port.
Indian officials have cited US sanctions on Iran as a main impediment to development works in the port.
Armenia proposed the Crossroads of Peace initiative in 2023 as complementary to the INSTC and to improve the South Caucasus country’s links to neighboring Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
