Iran's Chabahar Port has resumed operations as before. Operations here were badly affected after the Taliban's capture of Kabul on 15 August. After giving assurances by the Taliban, the traffic here is again seeing an increase. The Taliban has said that it wants good diplomatic and trade relations with India and will therefore support the port's role in facilitating regional and global trade. India has prepared this port.
There has been an increase in the traffic of ships coming from India and Russia at the port. India has played an important role in trade on this port. After the withdrawal of the Taliban in Afghanistan, there was a reduction in trade here. However, the port resumed operations on 2 September. One terminal of the port is handling cargo ships coming from Russia, Qatar, Romania and Australia. In these, grains like barley, wheat and maize are being transported.
For Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, this port is considered an easy, cheap and safe route to reach India and the global market. According to port officials, despite the instability in Afghanistan, traffic in Chabahar is on the rise again. The head of the Taliban's Political Office, Sher Abbas had assured Stankzai in August that the Taliban wanted good trade and diplomatic relations with India. For this Stankzai appealed to the traders to use the port.
Iran and India signed an agreement to develop the Chabahar port in 2018. This port directly connects to the Gulf of Oman. This port provides an alternative route for trade to India and Afghanistan. The US has exempted India from certain restrictions regarding the agreements made for this port. It is seen as a strategic port of India as compared to Gwadar (Pak). Gwadar has been built by China under the Belt and Road Project.
