EAM to represent India at Iran prez's inauguration

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will attend the inauguration of Iranian president-elect Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on August 5 amid growing coordination between New Delhi and Tehran over Afghan developments.ET had earlier reported that a Cabinet level minister will be India’s representative for the ceremony. New Delhi and Tehran have been in close touch over the last few weeks since the Taliban surge in Afghanistan, trying to increase coordination to safeguard their strategic interests. Foreign minister S Jaishankar was the first foreign leader to meet the Iranian president-elect when he travelled to Tehran last month enroute to Moscow and handed over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special message. Jaishankar has also been in regular touch with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif over the Afghan situation. The two met in Tehran during Jaishankar’s July visit and held talks on various issues from connectivity and Chabahar Port to the situation in Afghanistan. At the South-Central Asia connectivity conference in Tashkent last month, Jaishankar projected Iran's Chabahar Port as a key regional transit hub for Central Asian states. India is also focusing on International North South Transport Corridor or INSTC for connecting Russia and Europe via Iran in shortest possible time. Recently, Europe was connected to India for first time via INSTC when consignment was sent from Finland. India, Iran and Russia were the main supporters of the Northern Alliance when Taliban was in control of Kabul and large parts of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. This alliance was headed by legendary Tajik-origin commander Ahmad Shah Masood.Iran’s key worry now is a stream of refugees into the country from Afghanistan in case the Taliban takes full control. In recent days, Tehran has closed its borders with Afghanistan with the Iranian military keeping a watch on the border and developments in Afghanistan. A Shia majority Iran is also not comfortable with hardline Taliban even as it entreated into certain tactical arrangements with the group.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/37hOvwR