2009-11-17 10:35:06
WAM New Delhi, Nov 17th, 2009 (WAM) -- India and Iran have agreed to work together to eradicate the evil of terrorism and also step up bilateral trade.

Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna held delegation level talks with visiting Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki yesterday on cooperation in energy security, trade, science and technology as well as stability in troubled Afghanistan.

The Iranian Minister expressed concern over continued violence in Afghanistan, and suggested that the Iranian port of Chaubahar could be used to set up a rail link via Afghanistan to Central Asia for developing infrastructure and trade in the region for everyone's benefit.

Iran has helped India in extending food and development assistance to Afghanistan through its land borders and also wanted the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to be expedited.

It may be noted that Qatar was the first country in the world to offer gas to India in late 1980s, and Iran did the same a few years later.

India signed the world's biggest gas contract with Qatar in the late 1990s, the scope of which has steadily expanded. India imports LNG in super-cooled Korean-made ships and is hungry for more due to its rapidly developing infrastructure requirements.

India buys some $ 10 billion worth of oil from Iran, and wants to increase its own exports to that country.

Mr. Mottaki called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and extended an invitation on behalf of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to him for visiting Iran.

WAM G WAM/AMIR