Iran, India Resolved to Expand Ties despite US Sanctions

In a post on his Twitter account on Monday, Zarif said he held constructive talks with Indian officials on energy, banking, transportation and commerce, building on the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to India back in February

The Iranian foreign minister said Iran and India are resolved to expand their ties in all fields, adding the two sides have agreed to establish special committees to explore ways to expand their mutual relations in the wake of US sanctions.

Zarif also said he held “excellent substantive concluding meeting” with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.

According to a statement released by India’s External Affairs Ministry, during the meeting, Iranian and Indian foreign ministers discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

“The two sides positively assessed the implementation of decisions taken during the visit of President Rouhani to India. These included bilateral cooperation in the areas of connectivity, energy, trade and promotion of people to people contacts,” the statement read.

The Indian Ministry also called on all signatories of the JCPOA to engage constructively for peaceful resolution of the issues that have arisen with respect to the agreement.

Earlier, in response to a question on India’s stance towards the US decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal, India’s external affairs minister told a press conference that India only abides by sanctions imposed by the United Nations and not those imposed by any other country, including the ones announced by the US against Iran.

Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign ministry released a statement on the meeting. Based on the Iranian side’s statement, Swaraj has referred to the significance of the Iran nuclear deal and underlined India’s strong support for preserving the nuclear deal during the Monday talks.
For his part, the Iranian Foreign Minister thanked India’s principled stance in support of the JCPOA and briefed his Indian counterpart on efforts underway to preserve the deal.

He also praised Iran and India’s mutual ties and said bilateral political and economic relations between Tehran and New Delhi have always been at a good level.

Zarif also said the leadership of the two sides have made good agreements on further enhancing mutual economic relations.

During the talks, the two sides also exchanged views on further expansion of ties in banking, energy, trade, insurance, shipping, use of national currencies, Chabahar projects and Chabahar-Zahedan railway.

The Iranian and Indian top diplomats also discussed regional and international issues in a later banquet.

Zarif arrived in India early on Monday heading a politico-economic delegation to hold talks with Indian officials on US pullout from JCPOA and ways to expand energy and transport cooperation.

Iran is India’s third largest oil supplier and there were apprehensions about possible impact of the US decision on India’s oil imports.