Written by PAN Sunday, 22 June 2008 Businessmen to get special permits to use Iranian sea port IRAN has agreed to let Afghan businessmen use the Iranian sea port of Chabahar to import and export goods into and out of their country.
 
The historic deal will weaken Afghanistan’s reliance on Pakistan as a  transit route for goods travelling into and out of the country.
 
The head of Afghanistan’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mohammad  Qurban Haqjo, said the deal, singed on June 19, will boost trade and  create business opportunities for the country’s private sector.
 
The port is located on the Oman Gulf, about 700km from the Afghan province of Nimroz, and serves as a jumping off point to the Indian Ocean through the Arabian Sea.
 
The nearest sea port Afghanistan is currently allowed to use is in Karachi, Pakistan, 1,200km from Afghanistan’s eastern province of Ningarhar.
 
Haqjo said the route through Pakistan was fraught with problems for Afghan businessmen: goods are often seized by customs officials or delayed for months.
 
Businessmen have also complained in the past of the deteriorating security situation along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
 
The port at Chabahar will allow Afghan goods to reach the international market far quicker, he said.
 
The Iranian government will rent 50 hectares of the port’s land to Afghan businessmen for the next 99 years as part of the landmark deal.
 
The Iranian government’s representative in Chabahar, Dr Baqer Zada, said Afghans will be allowed to start up construction companies, hotels and tourism businesses in the port
 
“We are neighbors. We share the same religion. We want to encourage Afghan private sector development,” he said.
 
Businessmen will be able to obtain a special permit to travel to Chabahar without having to apply for a visa.
 
Malaysia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and China all use the port.

http://www.epaa.org.af/mainpages/iran.sxw.html