Crime News India

Iranian minister on visit to Delhi to pitch for resuming energy trade | Latest News India


NEW DELHI: Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht Ravanchi is on a visit to India for talks aimed at resuming energy trade, which stopped in 2019 because of US sanctions, and exploring options for ramping up non-oil trade.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the deputy foreign minister for political affairs, is heading the Iranian side in India- Iran political consultations (X/IranNuances)
Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the deputy foreign minister for political affairs, is heading the Iranian side in India- Iran political consultations (X/IranNuances)

India and Iran can build on their traditional relations to “do a lot together” for regional and global peace and security, including joint efforts to counter common threats such as terrorism, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday ahead of the talks.

The expansion of trade will figure in the 19th round of India- Iran political consultations being held in New Delhi during January 2-3. Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the deputy foreign minister for political affairs, is heading the Iranian side in these talks.

Overall trade between India and Iran plummeted after New Delhi ended purchases of Iranian oil in mid-2019 because of the threat of secondary sanctions during the first term of US president-elect Donald Trump. Till then, Iran was consistently one of India’s top three oil suppliers, along with Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The Iranian official, who asked not to be named, said it was “unfortunate” that two-way commerce had declined significantly since 2018, when the US first imposed fresh sanctions on oil trade, though Tehran “understands India’s constraints in respecting the sanctions”. He added, “We need to think how to deal with this issue… We need to see how to work out problems.”

The official said it is a “pity” that Indian refineries, whose technical specifications were in line with Iranian “heavy crude”, had to adjust while seeking oil supplies from other sources.

Asked about India continuing purchases of Russian oil despite a “price cap” and other restrictions imposed by the G7 and Western powers while abandoning crude purchases from Iran, the official said this is a “legitimate question” to be addressed.

“We don’t want to create hardships for India due to the sanctions, but it is important to address this issue. The circumstances are different between the sanctions [on Iran and Russia] and we need to talk to our colleagues in India to resolve this,” the official said.

India-Iran trade fell from a high of $17 billion in 2018-19 to $2.3 billion in 2022-23. However, India has remained among Iran’s five largest trade partners in recent years.

The official said Chabahar port, exempted from US sanctions and where an Indian state-run firm operates a terminal, presents an opportunity for cooperation in petrochemical industries. He was referring to Iran’s long-standing proposal for India to develop industries, including petrochemical units, in Chabahar free trade and industrial zone located near the port.

Brushing aside Iran’s previous concerns about delays in developing Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar port, the official said the two sides “should forget about the past and look to the future”. He added: “Chabahar is a good point of departure for future cooperation in trade and connectivity.”

In May 2024, India and Iran signed a 10-year agreement covering Indian operations at Chabahar, and New Delhi offered a credit window of $250 million for developing infrastructure around the port. The official said this agreement and the International North-South Trade Corridor could facilitate joint efforts to ramp up connectivity with Central Asia and Russia.

The official also pointed to the potential for expanding and diversifying non-energy trade with India, especially in areas such as agriculture and tourism. According to Iran’s customs administration, the country exported non-oil commodities worth $1.2 billion to India during March-November 2024. India was Iran’s seventh top export destination in this eight-month period.

Ahead of the beginning of Trump’s second term, the Iranian official said Tehran believes the president-elect’s previous policy of exerting “maximum pressure” on Iran has failed as it didn’t achieve the stated aims of a regime change and change in Tehran’s policies.

“Trump has talked about taking a strong line with Iran but he has also said he doesn’t want a quarrel or a regime change. We will wait and see and adjust our policies to him and his administration,” the official said.

The official pointed to China’s role in brokering a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023 and described Beijing as a “big power that is getting stronger in economic influence across the world”. He said China is interested in playing a role in West Asia because of various concerns, including a “resurgence in terrorism”, and one could expect more cooperation between China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Responding to a question about the case of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse on death row in Yemen, the official said Iran would be willing to take up the matter with Yemeni authorities. “We will do whatever we can,” he said.

Priya, 36, was arrested in 2017 for the murder of a Yemeni citizen and sentenced to death by a Yemeni court in 2020. Her death sentence was recently approved by Yemen’s president.



Source link

By admin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *