Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani reached India for his three-day country tour and was welcomed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ram Nath Kovind. He first stopped at Hyderabad where he visited the Golconda Fort and Qutb Shahi Tomb.
He visited the Makkah Masjid and offered his prayers on Friday. Later, he also addressed the people there. He said, “unity against western powers” and appreciated India for “peaceful coexistence” of people following different religions.
The bilateral discussion will be a crucial meeting for India as well as Iran. It will start when President Rouahni is in Delhi where he will also deliver a speech at the Observer Research Foundation.
This meeting will mitigate a host of issues and problems including the deepwater Chabahar Port issue, which Iran feels to have been dealing with due to US pressure on other countries. The meeting will also address the latest set of sanctions issued against Iran. Iran will also ease the visa procedure for Indians and this would further improve India -Iran ties. India too will ease the visa procedure for people in Iran.
Currently, India is highly interested in bagging the consignment of 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar port, which is no ordinary project. The Chabahar port is an $85 million port project and will be a project of paramount importance as it paves the route between India, Iran, and Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
The other matters of discussion will be oil and gas. the leaders may also arrive at a constructive conclusion for the Farzad-B gas and oil fields in south Iran, something which India is keen to take up. “Iran has abundant oil and natural gas resources and is willing to share them with India for its progress and prosperity of (its) people,” Mr Rouhani said in Hyderabad.
