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Iran Offers Strategic Cooperation Pact for India

Iran has offered India a strategic cooperation pact on the lines of a deal it signed with China in 2021, two people aware of the matter said, as the sanctions-hit country tries to attract investments in its energy and infrastructure sectors.

 

Details of the Iran-China deal have remained under wraps. However, according to reports in the international media last year, Beijing will invest close to $400 billion in Iran’s infrastructure and energy sector under a 25-year cooperation agreement. In return, Tehran will provide China with a steady supply of discounted Iranian oil. The deal was seen as a major expansion of Beijing’s footprint in West Asia and an effort by Iran to court non-Western sources for critical investments.

 

Iran has offered a similar deal to India to attract Indian investments and develop its transport and energy infrastructure, the people cited above said, adding that Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s deputy foreign minister confirmed the offer during an interaction with a group of experts during his visit to New Delhi last month.

 

Details of the proposed India-Iran pact are not yet clear. However, the matter is under consideration of the ministry of external affairs, sources said.

 

An equivalent deal with India assumes significance given that India was among Iran’s top oil customers till the sanctions took effect. A new compact with oil-rich Iran will help the world’s third largest oil consumer deal with high energy prices.

 

Iran has often reiterated its willingness to supply oil to India, and even assured New Delhi that it could help meet the country’s energy needs amid the volatility due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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