Iranian port of Chabahar Afghanistan's dream of access to international waters away from Pakistan

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Afghan government officials say they are seeking, through negotiations with Tehran, to develop the Iranian port of Chabahar to be a port for Afghan exports and imports, especially to India, and not rely entirely on Pakistani ports, which are often closed in their faces due to political positions between the two countries and caused a decline in Afghan trade.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Al Jazeera Net that with the increase in capacity in the port of Chabahar (far south of Iran) and the activation of the railway plan between Afghanistan and Iran will solve the problems of Afghan businessmen to a large extent "and we will be able to export the largest amount of Afghan goods, adding that "our traders should not rely on one way to export," referring to Pakistan.

When comparing the Pakistani port of Karachi to Iran's similarity, the Pakistani port is more developed and is not subject to international sanctions like Iranian ports.

Afghan businessmen say Pakistani authorities, instead of playing a central role in economic development and trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, are blocking exports and imports through Pakistan's main port of Karachi.

Afghan and Iranian officials at Chabahar port (island)

Challenges and obstacles

Afghan businessmen say there are fewer obstacles and challenges in Iranian ports than in Pakistan, so there is a greater tendency to go to Iran to export Afghan goods.

Khan al-Kuzi, deputy of the Afghan Chambers of Commerce, explained to Al Jazeera Net that although the port of Karachi is closer to Afghanistan compared to the port of Chabahar, the Pakistani authorities procrastinate the work of the Afghans, and whenever the goods are delayed, they imposed additional fees, which increases the cost, which forced Afghanistan to search for an alternative, which is currently the port of Chabahar.

Due to the obstacles and difficulties faced by Afghanistan to access the Pakistani port of Karachi, the previous Afghan government sought to reduce dependence on Pakistan in the transport sector by using the routes of Central Asian countries and Iran, but it did not succeed, and the Chabahar port option was one of the important options in the search for modern alternatives.

The current Taliban-led government is pursuing the same strategy because it understands that political relations with Pakistan overshadow trade and transit, and there is often tension between the two sides.

Recently, a number of Taliban officials, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy economic prime minister of Afghanistan, visited the port of Chabahar and stressed the desire to increase the volume of exports of Afghan goods through the Iranian port.

Baradar explained to Al Jazeera Net, "I visited Tehran and the port of Chabahar, and discussed with the Iranian authorities the process of transporting Afghan goods through this port, and the Iranians welcomed the matter, and expressed his aspiration for an increase in Afghan exports through the new route to India and the rest of the countries," and added that during the visit, "we offered the Iranians to buy land and equip it to serve the export operations of Afghan goods."

Afghanistan believes that the Chabahar port has a long-term strategy for it, because it could make Afghanistan part of an international corridor between South Asia and Central Asia, and because its eastern neighbor Pakistan does not abide by trade and transit agreements with Afghanistan, so the problem must be solved radically, officials said.

General view of containers in the Iranian port of Chabahar (Al Jazeera Net)

Corridor to Central Asia

The Afghan Chamber of Commerce says that by solving the challenges in the port of Chabahar, countries and other parties wishing to deliver their goods across Afghan territory to Central Asian countries, says economic expert Azrakesh Hafezi to Al Jazeera Net: "The port of Chabahar is very important for the transport of Afghan goods to India, and India can transport its goods through Afghanistan to Central Asian countries, because the port will shorten the way, and unfortunately the port has not developed during the past 20 years."

On the other hand, experts on Afghan affairs believe that moving to alternative routes other than those through Pakistan is positive and offers options for Kabul, pointing to the need to develop the infrastructure in the port of Chabahar so that it can provide the level of services required and face an increasing volume of goods for import or export.

The writer and political analyst Hikmat Jalil told Al Jazeera Net that the US and Western sanctions imposed on Iran are a major reason why businessmen are averse to using Iranian ports, pointing out that "Tehran does not have enough capacity, at least in the near term, to build infrastructure and facilities in the Chabahar port, which needs to be developed."

The writer and economic analyst Shams Shinwari pointed out to Al Jazeera Net that one of the positive factors is that the volume of Iranian exports to Afghanistan is very large, and annually 150,2 trucks move between the two countries, and statistics indicate that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries ranges from 5.3 to <> billion dollars, and Iran is seeking to build roads and access to China and Central Asia through Afghan territory.

Source : Al Jazeera