Armenia, Iran and India to launch trade route

 
A trilateral meeting on launching the Armenia-Iran-India trade route will be held in the near future, Sputnik Armenia reports, citing its own sources in logistics companies. The meeting will be held in Iran, with representatives of the transport spheres of the three countries familiarizing themselves with the infrastructure of Chabahar Port, discussing Armenia’s operator activity in the port, as well as issues related to the speedy launch of the route.

Earlier, the Ministry of Economy responded to Sputnik Armenia’s written inquiry that the format of Armenia’s participation as an operator is currently unknown. The ministry stressed that the use of new routes will increase Armenia’s trade potential. Yerevan will have reliable access to India as well as to the promising markets of Southeast Asia.

The route envisages the transportation of goods from the Persian Gulf countries and India to the EU and EAEU. Cargoes from the Indian port of Mumbai can be delivered to the port of Chabahar (south-east of Iran), then overland to Armenia (either by road or rail), then to Georgia, and from there to the ports of Bulgaria or Greece, or to Russia (through sea ports or the Verkhny Lars checkpoint).

The route through Armenia is important for Iran and India, which are seeking to diversify the supply of their goods. Sea logistics are currently complicated. The route through Iran and Armenia will allow India and the Persian Gulf countries to reduce logistics costs by 25% as well as transportation time by almost half (from 40 days through the Suez Canal to 18 days). In this case, Armenia will become an important transit hub. Thus, Yerevan will connect India and Iran with Europe through Georgian ports in the Black Sea and, conversely, the EU with India. The corridor through Armenia will allow India to gain access to the ports of the Black Sea as well as to the EAEU market via a shorter route.