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oceanic port by end of May
Iran and India are jointly developing Chabahar, located on the Gulf of Oman and offering unhindered access to the Indian Ocean, given its potential for facilitating trade with Afghanistan and central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, with the avoidance of New Delhi’s arch-rival Pakistan. Pakistan and China are jointly developing Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, a short distance from Chabahar across the border from Iran in Pakistan, as a rival port.
The US maintains a sanctions waiver on the development of the port, taking into account its importance to the development of the conflict-torn Afghan economy, but local reports suggest that indirect effects of American sanctions have slowed down the emergence of Chabahar as a fully-fledged cargo hub. Indian officials are now counting on a thaw in relations between Washington and Tehran under US President Joe Biden before moving forward with $500mn of investments centred on Chabahar, Indian press reports indicate. India is developing the Shahid Beheshti complex and one other terminal at the port under an agreement signed with Iran. Under the deal, it will operate the terminals for 10 years.
Mandaviya said the port had already commenced operations in a limited way and the growth potential was evident.
Chabahar port handled 123 vessels and 1.8mn tonnes of bulk and general cargoes from February 2019 to January 2021, he said.
9.1.5 Tourism sector news
Caspian countries ‘developing concept for sea tourism’
Iran, Iraq agree on visa waiver scheme
The five countries with a Caspian Sea coastline intend to develop tourism segments including ecological, beach, pilgrimage and cross-border, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said during last week’s 6th Caspian Media Forum in Astrakhan, Russia. Under the 5th Caspian Summit communique, bodies of the Caspian Sea states—Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan—were instructed to hold five-sided consultations on tourism in the Caspian Sea region. These consultations went ahead on August 27, 2019 in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
The most important task now, Zakharova said, was the creation of an architecture of cooperation between the Caspian Sea countries in the field of tourism, with a clear definition of its legal framework, the development of convenient visa mechanisms and the coordination of cruise tourism routes. “Currently, a draft agreement with the Caspian countries in the field of tourism is being worked out, with the involvement of commercial structures of the coastal countries. Also, government departments are working on the issue of tourism development in the Caspian Sea basin along the Astrakhan-Baku-Anzali-Turkmenbashi-Aktau route, with the involvement of a public-private partnership mechanism for this task,” Zakharova added.
Iran and Iraq are to remove visa restrictions on each other’s citizens, Mehr News reported on September 12 following a meeting between Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
After the meeting, Raisi referred to the new visa waiver scheme, while also announcing that the two neighbouring countries wish to get behind plans to develop a cross-border railway corridor.
"Iran-Iraq relations can expand despite the wishes of enemies," Raisi said, while noting Tehran’s desire to boost investment and connectivity with
49 IRAN Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com