India sends 1st wheat shipment to Afghanistan via Chabahar port in Iran

New Delhi: In a major step that is part of the initiative to circumvent an obstinate Pakistan, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Afghan foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani, through a joint video conference on Sunday, flagged off the first shipment of wheat from India to Afghanistan that will be transhipped through the Chabahar port in Iran.

The shipment is a part of India’s commitment to supply 1.1 million tonnes of wheat for the Afghan people “on a grant basis” and “will pave the way for operationalisation of Chabahar as an alternative, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan”. This move comes days after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to India and soon after the US said it had no objection to the India-Afghan-Iranian initiative to develop Chabahar that will slash Afghan dependence on Pakistan for sea access.

Sunday’s move will ensure the sea-land connectivity initiative through Iran between New Delhi and Kabul and comes after the start of an airfreight corridor linking India and Afghanistan. It may be recalled Pakistan is an obstacle to the direct India-Afghan trade route that passes through Pakistani territory.