Amid geopolitical comeptitions, Iran offers to connect Gwadar and Chabahar ports

Iran has offered to connect Pakistan’s Gwadar port with Chabahar port to promote trade and commerce in the region.

“I’ve come here with a proposal for the government of Pakistan for connection between Chabahar and Gwadar… We believe that Chabahar and Gwadar can complement each other,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Pakistani counterpart Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

“We can connect Chabahar and Gwadar, and then through that connect Gwadar to our entire railroad system, from Iran to the North Corridor, through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and also through Azerbaijan, Russia, and through Turkey,” Zarif said, according to a statement.

Just 100 km away from the Pakistan Chabahar has been constructed with the Indian investment and is seen as a rival to Pakistan’s Chinese-financed Gwadar deep seaport. Islamabad views Indian involvement with suspicion and has accused New Delhi of sponsoring militancy in Balochistan.

Gwadar has a much bigger investment is a key point in China’s trade corridor as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Gwadar Deep Sea Port, Image: Umargondal /Wikimedia Commons

As Islamabad’s relations with India and Afghanistan have nosedived, trade has also suffered and Afghanistan has joined India and Iran in an accord to open up new avenues of trade through Chabahar port.

On the other hand, China, the world’s second largest economy brings Pakistan immense advantages as its oil needs are huge and Gwadar’s key servicing would help the local and national Pakistani economies.

During his visit Zarif also met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Iran, which is facing a huge American pressure in the form of sanctions and threats of a military action, is trying to cozy up to Pakistan, which has much closer cooperative ties with Tehran’s regional competitor Saudi Arabia.Saudi Arabia will provide oil to Pakistan worth billions of dollars under a deferred payment arrangement as Islamabad seeks to stabilize its economy.

Amid fears of a U.S.-Iran conflict, Pakistan urged both sides to refrain from a military solution to their differences.

Iranian foreign minister’s visit is significant as Pakistan, though bogged in regional tensions and a slumping ecocnomy, has support of some major regional powers including China, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf nations, which come to its rescue in periods of economic squeeze.