Afghanistan-Iran-India trilateral consultation promotion stressed

The two leaders also called upon the countries in the region to take further steps for enhancing the regional connectivity and to do more to rid obstacles on land transit.

The Iranian president who has travelled to India met with top Indian officials including Narendra Modi.

The two countries also signed 9 memorandum of understandings and have agreed to expand connectivity beyond Chabahar port, not only to link it with a Railway line to Zahidan, but to connect it with the 7,200-km-long International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) — a multi-mode network for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran will hold an early meeting of the INSTC Coordination Meeting in Tehran.

In a joint statement issued by the two countries at the end of deliberations, both sides while recognising the challenges of terrorism, also expressed the need to identify and address conditions conducive to terrorism as well as extremist ideologies.

Both countries also agreed to intensify and diversify the existing high-level engagement and decided to convene within this year the meeting of the India-Iran Joint Commission and all its working groups, Foreign Office Consultations as well as a dialogue between institutions on defence and national security of the two countries. President Rouhani also acknowledged the aspiration of India to play a greater role in international fora.

Recognizing the challenges of terrorism and ideologies of violent extremism, the two leaders reiterated their strong commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.

For better cultural exchange, both sides agreed to grant e-visa facility to travellers. They also agreed to hold a Festival of India in Iran and establish a Chair of Indian Studies in the Tehran University. As part of this effort, Indology courses will be made available for Iranian diplomats by the Foreign Service Institute of India while support will be provided for Persian language courses in India.