“We would very much like to establish transport links between the port of Chabahar and Armenia, because we see this as another direction for communication between India, the Caucasus and Europe, which would benefit everyone,” said Sripriya Ranganathan, Secretary for Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Affairs at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, during the international conference “Yerevan Dialogue 2026” on May 6.

She noted that an increasing number of countries are beginning to recognize the need for alternatives, including in terms of transporting goods to consumers, News.Az reports, citing News.Am.

Ranganathan said that the crisis in the Middle East has had a tremendous impact on Iran due to its close economic ties with partners in the Gulf countries. “Our trade turnover with these countries exceeds 200 billion dollars. We have significant investment ties with these countries. We import a substantial portion of oil and gas from these countries. We also purchase fertilizers from them. Importantly, we have a 10-million-strong community living in the Gulf countries, whose welfare and security are of primary importance to us.

We are currently seeking freedom of navigation for all our vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, and we hope this will allow us to quickly restore normal conditions. We have had to significantly revise our strategy to cope with the situation. We have managed to diversify supply sources. Today, we purchase oil and gas from 41 suppliers, which is a significant step forward in our procurement strategy. This has given us some flexibility. It is still not enough, but the situation has improved,” the Indian Foreign Ministry representative concluded.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada