Iran’s Deputy FM Takht Ravanchi set to visit India today, talks to focus on trade, security issues, Chabahar Port

Amid the unrest in the Middle East, Dr. Takht Ravanchi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, is set to visit India today and engage in discussions with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi.

According to a senior Iranian official, the agenda for the talks includes enhancing bilateral trade in both energy and non-energy sectors, improving connectivity and tourism, addressing regional and international security issues, and discussions on the completion of the Chabahar Port project.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA on Wednesday reported that the Public Relations Office of the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the 19th round of Iran-India political negotiations are set to take place on Thursday and Friday in New Delhi, during Ravanchi’s visit to India.

India and Iran share a millennia-long history of interactions. India and Iran signed a friendship treaty on March 15, 1950. The visit of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Iran and the signing of the Tehran Declaration in April 2001, followed by the visit of then President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami and the signing of the New Delhi Declaration in 2003 deepened the India-Iran cooperation. The two documents identified areas of cooperation and set the strategic vision for the India-Iran partnership, according to the Embassy of india in Tehran.

The bilateral relations were further boosted by the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016. During the visit, a joint statement titled “Civilizational Connect, Contemporary Context” was issued, and 12 MOUs/Agreements were signed. The Trilateral Agreement on Trade, Transport and Transit between India, Iran and Afghanistan was also signed during the visit. President Rouhani visited India in February 2018, during which a joint statement titled “Towards Prosperity Through Greater Connectivity” was issued. The two sides signed 13 MOUs/Agreements during the visit.

There have been two Parliamentary speaker-level visits between India and Iran, with Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar visiting Iran in 2011, followed by a return visit by the Speaker of Majlis, Dr Ali Larijani to India in 2013.

PM Modi and President Raisi met for the first time on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of State Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September 2022, during which both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral cooperation, especially in trade and connectivity. The two leaders also met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in August 2023.