TEHRAN - The Islamic Republic of
Iran, India and Afghanistan signed two tripartite
memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in Iran on Sunday to
expand cooperation in the trade, economic and transit
fields.
The MoUs were inked by Iranian Minister
of Commerce Mohammad Shariatmadari and Minister of Roads
and Transportation Ahmad Khorram, Indian Minister of
State for External Affairs Digvijay Singh and Afghan
Trade Minister Mostafa Kazemi.
According to the
MoUs, the three sides are to cooperate and coordinate
activities in the fields of trade and investment. The
three countries have also agreed to avail of the
Iran-Afghanistan railroad as well as the Iranian and
Indian shipping lines in order to send commodities to
Central Asia.
In the meeting leading to the
signing of the MoUs, the Islamic Republic pledged to
reduce 90 percent of all taxes on non-oil goods being
transited from Chabahar Port to Afghanistan and to write
off warehousing and porterage costs by up to 50 percent.
The signatories also agreed to hold several
joint and exclusive exhibitions to promote their
respective products and enhance the current level of
trade and economic exchanges. They have also agreed to
open a new route from Chabahar Port in Zabol province in
Iran to Zaranj and Dilaram provinces in Afghanistan.
Iran, which pledged to donate US$560 million to
war-stricken Afghanistan's reconstruction programs, had
allocated $50 million to complete infrastructural,
development and health projects in that neighboring
country by the end of the current Iranian calendar year.
During the meeting, the three sides also agreed
to work to remove obstacles that lie in the way of
trilateral relations as well as open facilities to help
resolve problems. Speaking on the sidelines of the
meeting, the Afghan trade minister said he believes the
MoUs will open a new chapter in trade relations among
the three Asian states.
Mostafa Kazemi also
described the Chabahar Port transit route to Afghanistan
as the "safest" to his country, adding that the European
Union also welcomes the establishment of the trade
route. The Afghan trade minister headed an eight-member
economic and trade delegation.
