New Delhi
8 July 2010
Iran has offered to sign a bilateral investment protection treaty with India and
invited Indian corporates to invest in refineries and power plants are likely to be
disinvested.
Visiting Iranian minister for economic affairs and finance, Shamseddin Hosseini, is
understood to have discussed the prospects for the treaty with his Indian counterpart, Mr
Pranab Mukherjee, here Thursday.
Mr Hosseini was in Delhi for the 16th meeting of the India-Iran Joint Commission, which
was co-chaired by External affairs minister SM Krishna on the Indian side.
Earlier in the day, speaking to industry representatives at a function organised by Ficci,
the Iranian minister hoped the joint commission meeting would help to remove barriers
to two-way trade and facilitate the flow of investments.
The joint commission meeting is expected to identify joint cooperation projects such as
Chabahar port in Iran, energy cooperation and trade. The mechanism was established in
July 1983. The Joint Commission last met at Tehran in 2008.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki of Iran is expected to take part in the 10th foreign
ministerial meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-
ARC) to be held in the Yemen capital of Sana'a from August 2 to 5. India will succeed
Yemen as the IOR-ARC chair in 2011.
India has said it would welcome Iran's participation in the Indian Ocean naval
symposium. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has said that maritime security is a
potential area of cooperation for India and Iran. "The Indian Ocean touches both our
nations, and we cannot remain immune to the challenges that we face, including an
increase in piracy off the coast of Africa, and beyond. We welcome suggestions from the
Iranian side on how to carry forward a dialogue on cooperation in this area," Ms Rao
said.
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