Page 17 - The Indian EYE 051421

OPINION MAY 14, 2021 | The Indian Eye 17

China-Iran strategic cooper- The Chabahar port in iran The challenges emanating
ation progresses in the long- from external factors, includ-
term, the growing China-Iran ing from growing Chinese in-
proximity has strategic chal- prox.) from INR 150 crores 2020, which was followed by a roads in the Gulf region, can
lenges for India. (US$ 20 million approx.) for stop-over a few weeks later by be overcome with continued
Firstly, India’s relations 2018-19, after the confirma- Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. political and diplomatic en-
with Iran have been impact- tion, increased the allocation gagements.
ed by the reimposition of US to INR 100 crores (US$ 13 india has vital interests in
sanctions after Trump an- million approx.) in the 2020-21 Md. Muddassir Quamar
nounced the US withdrawal budget. New Delhi faced chal- the Gulf and West Asia en- is Associate Fellow at Mano-
from JCPOA in 2018. Indian lenges not only due to the US compassing energy security, har Parrikar Institute for De-
imports of Iranian oil were sig- sanctions but also because of fence Studies and Analyses,
nificantly impacted and came the COVID-19 pandemic.22 trade and business, diaspo- New Delhi.
to nought in February 2019 as Secondly, growing Chinese ra and the fight against ter-
the Trump administration re- inroads in Iran will mean that Views expressed are of the
fused to renew the waiver for China, on account of better ror and extremism. iran is author and do not necessarily
oil imports from Iran. diplomatic and political rela- an important regional play- reflect the views of the Mano-
With diplomatic efforts, the tions, can gain a competitive har Parrikar IDSA or of the
US formally underlined that edge over India in getting de- er and india has had strong Government of India.
the work on the Chabahar port velopmental projects. and friendly relations with
project is not under sanctions; Despite the challenges em- This is the abridged version
hence, Indian companies re- anating from external factors, iran. there are ample op- of the article which appeared
sumed work on the project. New Delhi continues to attach portunities for future co- first in the Comment section
India which had reduced the significance to its ties with Iran of the website (www.idsa.in) of
allocation for the port project as was showcased with the visit operation in economic, po- Manohar Parrikar Institute for
in the 2019-20 budget to INR of Defence Minister Rajnath litical and strategic areas. Defense Studies and Analyses,
45 crores (US$ 5.9 million ap- Singh to Tehran in September New Delhi on May 13, 2021

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