Alwaght- Disappointed with the international community for recognition of its interim government, the Taliban are resorting to new economic initiatives to beat crises with the help of neighbors. Meanwhile, cooperation with Iran as the biggest economic partner of the interim government is increasingly rising as a priority of the Taliban leaders.
In the last week visit of a Taliban delegation to Iran, the group’s representatives voiced their readiness to bolster cooperation with Iran in the trade sector. Though various issues were discussed with Iranian officials, the core topic was the use of Iranian transit routes as it seems that Kabul leaders have began to figure out Iran’s geostrategic position and significance.
Afghanistan Deputy Foreign Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar told Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian that Kabul is “interested in increasing our foreign trade relations through the transit routes of Iran and using the capacities of Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports for exports and imports.”
Also, in his meeting with the secretary of the High Council of Free and Special Economic Zones of Iran and the political and economic officials of Chabahar, Baradar said: “Afghanistan has many mines and therefore Chabahar port is of interest to us, especially investors, for the export of Afghanistan’s minerals. All the efforts of the ruling body of Afghanistan is to have a good, friendly, economic and investment relationship with Iran, and Iran is an opportunity for us to develop relations with other countries.”
He further said that Afghanistan is landlocked and needs Iran’s ground and sea for access to the big markets and high seas. “We can link Iran to the Central Asia and countries in the vicinity of Afghanistan.”
Iran has not recognized the interim government of the Taliban, nevertheless, the commercial cooperation between the two countries is on the rise, and with the announcement of the Taliban’s readiness to use Iranian ports and transit lines, this cooperation will expand in the future. Given the strategic position of Afghanistan and Iran, the higher the trade between the two countries grows, the more it will contribute to economic prosperity in the region.
Chabahar’s significance for Afghanistan
Chabahar port is in a geostrategically strategic position and can provide Afghanistan with the opportunity to access new partners in the region and beyond and help develop Afghanistan’s economy.
Being landlocked and having collapsed economy are among the factors that keep Afghanistan away from economic development. The country’s access to the sea is only possible through Pakistan and Iran. Earlier, Karachi port of Pakistan was the only access way to the sea for Afghanistan, but now Chabahar is slated to take this central role.
In recent years, Afghan officials have been striving to boost their economic ties to inject new blood in their spent economy and get rid of dependence on foreign finances by diversifying their trade and transit routes. Former President Ashraf Ghani in 2019 said that “ Chabahar port is the key to the future of Afghanistan and with the inauguration of this port, Afghanistan no longer faces transit restrictions.” Having in mind that Chabahar has the potential to transform into a regional transit hub, it can bring about major economic transformation to the region and specifically to Afghanistan.
The state of being landlocked is one of the reasons why radicalism and terrorism have grown in this country. Neighboring countries are concerned about its spread to them. To reduce the security threats, they try to pave the way for development of Afghanistan’s exports and infrastructure and facilitate its access to the high seas and hence reduce poverty rates. Chabahar and Iran’s railway network are the best option to advance these goals. For Afghanistan, access to the sea through Chabahar will reduce its dependence on Pakistani ports, which is a better option given the unstable relations between Islamabad and Kabul, and this will reduce Afghanistan’s vulnerability to Pakistani pressure.
While port of Bandar Abbas is 680 kilometers away from Chabahar port, if rail access to Chabahar is provided, transit from India to Afghanistan and Central Asia, will be done at a lower cost and shorter time. To beat the challenge of distance, Iran is building a 628-kilometer long railway project, which aims to connect Chabahar port to Zahedan city on the border with Afghanistan. The railway is said to be inaugurated by the end of the Persian year in March 2023. Once this project is concluded, Afghanistan exports to Chabahar and Bandar Abbas will be faster.
According to preliminary studies, Chabahar is 90 kilometers compared to Bandar Abbas and 700 kilometers compared to Karachi port closer to central Afghanistan, something considerably cutting the transit costs and making exports easier.
According to some experts, Chabahar is the best place for business activities and investment for Afghan businessmen due to its strategic position in the world and its proximity to Afghanistan. For example, it takes 18 hours to transport Afghan containers from Karachi port to Kandahar whereas the same transfer needs 12 hours from Chabahar port. So, Iran and Afghanistan should make more efforts to invest in the port for the good of economic growth.
From another dimension, use of Chabahar port draws foreign and home investments to Afghanistan transportation sector and this, in turn, leads to creation of jobs and settlement of economic challenges.
Afghanistan transformation into the region’s trade gateway
The US says that there are roughly worth of $1 trillion minerals including iron, copper, gold, semi-precious jewels, and industrial metals like lithium in Afghanistan. Many countries, including China, are eyeing these precious metals and resources of Afghanistan, and since these valuable resources must be transported by rail, Iran’s rail corridors, which are connected to eastern Afghanistan, can play an important role in their transportation and by transferring them to Chabahar and from there to other other places, Afghans can earn more profits. Since Chabahar port is excluded from the US sanctions, the Taliban government can hope to inject revenues into the country from this route without any worries.
Chabahar port allows Afghanistan to strengthen its geopolitical and transit position in the region. By using this port, Afghanistan can become a transit point for the transfer of commercial goods of the landlocked countries of Central Asia and earn millions of dollars annually in transit revenues. Central Asian republics have already announced their readiness to increase boost interactions with this country.
In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a historic tripartite agreement to develop Chabahar port as a major crossing point in the ‘transit and transport corridor’ initiative. According to figures, the transit capacity of Chabahar port, which is now 8.5 million tons, will increase to 33 million tons per year in the second phase of development. Therefore, such a big transit volume can be effective in deepening the trade relations of the three countries. Since India, in competition with China, is looking for a strong entry into Afghanistan’s economy and mining sector, with the strengthening of Chabahar port, interactions between New Delhi and Kabul will expand.
The landlocked Afghanistan in recent years has been importing its grains from India via Chabahar port with a cheaper price and faster delivery than Pakistan’s Karachi. The Taliban can take advantage of the strategic Iranian port. The importance of the Iranian port is that it allows India to export goods outside Karachi port and also allows Iran to transfer goods outside the Persian Gulf and expand Afghanistan trade using ground routes.
Given the membership of the three countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, using Iranian transit routs and ports will help trade ties within the framework of this organization, and once Central Asian states and Russia join this regional trade, the trade interactions among the member states will see an upgrade.
Iran is Afghanistan’s biggest trade partner and completion of North-South Corridor and expansion of Chabahar port provide a big opportunity to Afghanistan to improve its economic conditions, and by eliminating poverty and economic problems, Kabul can substantially contribute to regional peace and stability.
