The agreement was signed in Tehran in the presence of ports and shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his Iranian counterpart Mehrdad Bazrpash, Hindustan Times reported.

Sonowal’s visit amid India’s general elections emphasizes the importance attached by New Delhi to the Chabahar port and its place in ambitious plans to forge greater connectivity with Iran, Afghanistan and the landlocked central Asian states.

Sonowal said with the signing of the agreement, the two countries have laid the foundations for India’s long-term involvement in Chabahar.

“The signature of this contract will have a multiplier effect on the viability and visibility of Chabahar port,” Sonowal said. “Chabahar is not only the closest Iranian port to India, but it is also an excellent port from [a] nautical point of view,” the India daily said.

The long-term agreement, to be valid for 10 years and extended subsequently, was being negotiated by the two sides over the past three years and had been held up over differences on a clause related to arbitration. It replaces an initial pact inked in 2016 that covered India’s operations at the Shahid Beheshti terminal of Chabahar port and has been renewed annually.

India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), a subsidiary of state-run India Global Ports Limited (IGPL), currently operates the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar port.