SME Times is powered by   
Search News
Just in:   • South Korea's current account surplus widens amid US tariff pressure  • SEBI bars US firm Jane Street from Indian markets, directs it to deposit Rs 4,843 crore  • India will soon be world’s third-largest economy: PM Modi  • India’s chemical sector can reach $1 trillion by 2040, create 7 lakh jobs by 2030: NITI Aayog  • Intense talks continue to reach interim India-US trade deal ahead of deadline 
Last updated: 18 Dec, 2018  

Afghanistan.9.Thmb.jpg Afghanistan welcomes US exempting India from Iran sanctions over Chabahar

Afghanistan.9.jpg
   Top Stories
» SEBI bars US firm Jane Street from Indian markets, directs it to deposit Rs 4,843 crore
» Intense talks continue to reach interim India-US trade deal ahead of deadline
» India poised to become 3rd-largest economy by 2030, overtaking Germany: Hardeep Puri
» India's industrial production registers 1.2 per cent growth in May
» Govt committed to building safe and smart energy future: Minister
SME Times News Bureau | 28 Dec, 2018
Afghanistan has welcomed the exemption from the Iran sanctions given by the US for the India-developed Chabahar Port project.

"We appreciate the collaboration and flexibility of our strategic partner, the US to work with Afghanistan, Iran and India towards exempting the port from its sanctions," Afghanistan's Permanent Representative Mahmoud Saikal told the Security Council on Monday at its meeting on his country.

"The Chabahar Port remains an important gateway for providing commercially viable access to the sea linking the Indian Ocean with Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond," he said.

India is investing $500 million in the port project in Iran and the road link to Afghanistan, which gives the land-locked nation where the US is heavily invested an alternative sea outlet.

Despite President Donald Trump's animosity towards Iran, the US had to give the exemption to Chabahar to enable Indian assistance to reach Afghanistan, where Washington is mired in a 17-year-war against the Taliban, the Al Qaeda and their allies.

Without access to Chabahar, Afghanistan would be forced to depend solely on Pakistan for a sea passage.

Last month, Washington imposed harsh restrictions on trade relations with Iran, threatening sanctions on those violating the embargo.

This followed Trump pulling out of the nuclear deal signed during former President Barack Obama's tenure between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and the European Union, to end sanctions in return for Tehran stopping nuclear weapons development.

Announcing the US exemption for the Chabahar Port, a State Department spokesperson said last month that it "relates to reconstruction assistance and economic development for Afghanistan. These activities are vital for the ongoing support of Afghanistan's growth and humanitarian relief".

India has sent 1.1 million tonnes of wheat through the port to Afghanistan, where the eastern region has suffered a drought.

Trump's South Asia strategy "underscores our ongoing support of Afghanistan's economic growth and development as well as our close partnership with India", the spokesperson added.

Last year, Trump assigned a "critical" role for India in his country's South Asia strategy for fighting terrorism, building up a safe Afghanistan and appealed for help from New Delhi.

Chabahar would be essential for any large-scale assistance from India to Afghanistan.

With the prospects of peace negotiations with the Taliban improving, Saikal took a conciliatory approach to Pakistan, which he had sternly accused in the past of being complicit in cross-border terrorist attacks.

"We have always asserted that the government of Pakistan has a particularly important role to play, given its leverage over key Taliban figures," he said.

Taliban leaders and Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, met in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday for talks facilitated by Pakistan.

At the trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers, Salahuddin Rabbani of Afghanistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi of Pakistan and Wang Yi of China in Kabul last weekend, " we reiterated our request from Pakistan to do what is necessary to facilitate direct talks", Saikal said.

"And in regards to security, we asserted that mutual trust and confidence is only possible when we see a reduction in violence, and more tangible measures against terrorist elements," he added.
 
Print the Page
Add to Favorite
 
Share this on :
 

Please comment on this story:
 
Subject :
Message:
(Maximum 1500 characters)  Characters left 1500
Your name:
 

 
  Customs Exchange Rates
Currency Import Export
US Dollar
84.35
82.60
UK Pound
106.35
102.90
Euro
92.50
89.35
Japanese Yen 55.05 53.40
As on 12 Oct, 2024
  Daily Poll
Do you think Indian businesses will be negatively affected by Trump's America First Policy?
 Yes
 No
 Can't Say
  Commented Stories
 
 
About Us  |   Advertise with Us  
  Useful Links  |   Terms and Conditions  |   Disclaimer  |   Contact Us  
Follow Us : Facebook Twitter