The Iranian foreign minister said India is committed to buying Iranian oil and continuing the two nations’ economic cooperation. The foreign minister said after a meeting with his Indian counterpart and ahead of US sanctions aimed at halting Tehran’s oil exports.
After the US President Donald Trump withdraws from an international nuclear pact with Iran, his government followed up with plans to impose new sanctions against Iran which is the third-largest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
India, Iran’s second-biggest oil client behind China, has already reduced its intake of Iranian oil but has not yet decided whether to end purchases completely.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Affairs Minister met Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj, in New York on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly where he said Iran wants to expand its bilateral relations with India.
He said “our Indian friends have always been categorical in terms of their intention to continue economic cooperation and (the) import of oil from Iran. And I heard the same statement from my Indian counterpart.”
The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan. The complex could open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut India’s dependence on neighbour Pakistan. The plant is expected to be operational by 2019.
[source_without_link]SIASAT NEWS[/source_without_link]