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India expects US to allow resumption of Iranian oil imports
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INDIA’S External Affairs Minister Subrahman- yam Jaishanker has said he expects the US to tol- erate New Delhi purchasing oil from Iran again in the not too distant future, according to Indian newspaper The Tribune.
Jaishanker remarks were reportedly made at a think-tank event in Washington organised by the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USI- SPF). however, the report did not mention any particular reason as to why the minister antic- ipated that the US might soon give such a nod.
India’s top diplomat was cited as saying that keeping good relations with both Washington and Tehran was about “balancing ties”. India, he noted, is a significant oil consumer and having “affordable” access to energy was “very important.”
Prior to the US in May this year introduc- ing a sanctions drive to try and reduce Iranian oil exports to nil, India was known as the sec- ond biggest buyer of crude from Iran, behind China. With the US no longer issuing sanctions waivers on oil shipments from Iran, India has struggled to adjust its oil import plan in recent months. Traditionally, several Indian refineries, specifically designed for the type of crude oil Iran exports, buy crude consignments from the Iranians.
Jaishanker was also quoted as saying in response to journalists’ questions that Iran “was not disappointed” with India for stopping imports of crude oil in response to the US sanc- tions. Further hinting at a possible breakthrough on restarting imports, Jaishanker said: “I don’t agree with you that the Iranians are disap- pointed. I think the Iranians are realists.
“There is a larger global situation in which they are operating... we are operating. In the world that I inhabit, we frankly understand each other’s compulsions and possibilities.”
Chabahar ‘vital to indian interests’
Turning to Chabahar – Iran’s only oceanic port, located on the Gulf of Oman and in the midst of an Indian-Iranian development and expan- sion investment to facilitate more cargo ships crossing the Indian Ocean – Jaishanker said the access provided to India by the facility to Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan was vital to Indian interests.
With a particular eye on the importance of Chabahar to the war-torn Afghan economy, the US has refrained from targeting the port with sanctions.
On September 29, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) officials announced that officials should be tasked with developing new trade routes to access the Indian and other South Asian mar- kets. The Chabahar route was again in mind.
Tigran Sargsyan called for the establishment of a working group to explore how infrastruc- ture in Iran can be integrated into trade routes open to EEU members Russia, Belarus, Kazakh- stan Kyrgyzstan and Armenia to open up trade potential with South Asia.
Generated trade from subsequent initiatives couldbe“verysignificant”,headded.
After meeting an Iranian trade and business delegation, he added that sub-working groups in various fields—especially in banking, finance, trade and customs—would be needed.
Meanwhile, work is proceeding on creating the International North-South Transport Cor- ridor (INSTC), a 7,200-kilometre, multimodal project that will see India connected to north- ern Europe via a corridor running through Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.
Iranian President hassan Rouhani was on September 29 in Yerevan for an EEU summit in the Armenian capital. he held talks with Arme- nian counterpart Nikol Pashinian.™
Week 41 15•October•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P9