Indian PM to visit Iran to boost cooperation

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make an official visit to Iran on May 22 in a bid to spruce up bilateral ties with the Islamic republic, state IRIB TV reported on Tuesday.

During his two-day visit to Tehran, Modi will be accompanied by a high-ranking politico-economic delegation.

Modi is scheduled to meet with a number of Iranian senior officials including President Hassan Rouhani and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

Rouhani's office announced on Tuesday that during the visit, both sides will ink a number of agreements to deepen their mutual ties in the post-sanction era, IRIB reported.

The documents will encompass economic, trade, investment, transportation, ports developments and culture science sectors.

Iran has reportedly said that it can be a "reliable partner" for India's energy needs and New Delhi has lined up 20 billion U.S. dollars investment in oil and gas, petrochemical and fertilizer projects in that country.

Also, India said it is ready to invest in the development of Iran's southeastern port of Chabahar.

In May 2014, India and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop the port once the international sanctions against Iran were lifted. Both sides agreed as per the MoU to allow India lease two docks at the port for a period of 10 years, a move that was meant to cut India's crude oil and urea transportation costs by around 30 percent.

Chabahar is located in the Gulf of Oman on the border with Pakistan. India's move to develop Chabahar port, if implemented, would enable New Delhi to dodge Pakistan and establish a strategic connectivity to Afghanistan as well as Central Asia. Endit