PM Narendra Modi, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave signed a trilateral agreement  to develop the Chabahar port for transportation and transit corridor.


"President Ashraf Ghani has arrived in Tehran for today's signing of the Chabahar accord on international transport and transit corridor," Afghanistan's Tolo News reported.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived on Sunday on a two-day visit to Iran, was also witness to the signing of the trilateral agreement along with Ghani and Rouhani. Earlier on Monday, India and Iran signed three bilateral agreements for the development of the strategic port.


The agreement to develop Phase I of Chabahar port is seen as India's counter to the development of the deep-sea port of Gwadar, in Balochistan in Pakistan, that opens into the Arabian Sea, close to the Strait of Hormuz, and will allow China access to the Indian Ocean.


India and Iran today pledged to combat terrorism and radicalism as the two nations signed 12 agreements including a "milestone" pact on developing the strategic Chabahar port, giving a boost to economic partnership in the post-sanctions era. India committed around USD 500 million for the important port in Iran's southern coast, which will serve as a "point of
connectivity" between India, Afghanistan, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and East Europe.