Trade, Chabahar and economic links between India and Iran

This article covers trade and economic links between India and Iran: the goods traded, the Joint Commission Meeting, the Chabahar Port project and related transit arrangements, and official visits on transport, finance and agriculture. It is based on the MEA brief of July 2026. The brief gives no trade values or investment figures, so none appear here.

Trade

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India and Iran have been important trade partners, and India has been among Iran's five largest trade partners in recent years.

Major Indian exports to Iran include rice, tea, sugar and pharmaceuticals. Major Indian imports from Iran consist of dry fruits and fresh fruits. The brief gives both lists as examples rather than complete lists of the goods traded.

Joint Commission Meeting

The Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) is one of the bilateral consultative mechanisms listed in the brief. The rounds recorded in the brief's visit tables are:

the 17th JCM, for which External Affairs Minister Shri Salman Khurshid visited Iran on 03-05 May 2013
the 18th JCM, for which Dr. Ali Tayyebnia, Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance, visited India on 26-28 December 2015
the 19th JCM, for which External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Iran on 22-23 December 2019
the 20th JCM, co-chaired in India on 07-08 May 2025 by Dr. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister Dr. Seyyed Abbas Araghchi

The Chabahar Port project

The brief's record of visits traces the Chabahar Port project from 2015. Its list of ministerial visits includes an entry for Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, on May 5-7 2015, with the purpose given as "MoU on Chabahar". Rajiv Kumar, Secretary (Shipping), also visited Iran in 2015 regarding the Chabahar Port project.

Shri Alok Srivastava, Special Secretary (Shipping), visited Iran on 3-6 September 2017 for the 6th Joint Committee Meeting on Ports and Maritime Cooperation. Shri Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Shipping, represented India at the inauguration of the Chabahar Port on 2-4 December 2017.

Transit arrangements

The Trilateral Agreement on Trade, Transport and Transit between India, Iran and Afghanistan was signed during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Iran in May 2016. Shri T.S. Tirumurti, Secretary (ER), visited Iran on 23-24 October 2018 for the 1st Coordination Council Meeting on Trilateral Transit Agreement between Afghanistan, India & Iran (Chabahar Agreement). Shri Gopal Krishna, Secretary (Shipping), attended the Chabahar Day Event 2019 in Iran on 26 February 2019.

Mr. Mehdi Safari, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, visited India on 12-13 April 2023 for the 1st India-Central Asia JWG on Chabahar Port. He had earlier made a bilateral visit to India on 15 June 2022.

Long-term contract for Chabahar

In May 2024, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, visited Iran to witness the signing of the long term Contract on Development of the Chabahar Port. The brief's visit table dates this visit to 13 May 2024.

Roads and urban development

Iran's ministers responsible for transport and urban development visited India three times in the period covered by the brief's table. Dr. Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Transport and Urban Development, visited from 27-30 September 2016. As Minister of Roads & Urban Development, Mr. Abbas Akhoundi visited India again on 6-7 September 2018 and from 9-12 January 2019. All three visits are listed as bilateral.

Finance

Shri Rajeev Mehrishi, Finance Secretary, visited Iran on 25-26 July 2015. Mr. Ali Fekri, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of the Islamic Republic of Iran, visited India on 13 December 2023. Both visits are listed as bilateral.

In June 2012, Shri Vinod Rai, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, visited Iran at the invitation of the Supreme Audit Court of Iran (SAC).

Agriculture

Three Iranian deputy ministers with agriculture portfolios made bilateral visits to India in 2023 and 2024:

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mr. Mohammad Mehdi Borumandi, on 10th June 2023
Mr. Alireza Peyman Pak, Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Trade and Market Regulation, from 31st August to 2nd September 2023
Mr. Ahmad Khani Nowzari, Deputy Minister for Commercial Development Office, Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, as Head of Delegation, from 04 to 08 February 2024

Since the brief of July 2026

Later developments in India and Iran relations, from MEA publications, newest first. The article above reports the brief at its date.

Questions and answers

What does India export to Iran?

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, major Indian exports to Iran include rice, tea, sugar and pharmaceuticals, while major Indian imports from Iran consist of dry fruits and fresh fruits.

When was the long term contract on Chabahar Port signed?

Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, visited Iran in May 2024 to witness the signing of the long term Contract on Development of the Chabahar Port.

When was Chabahar Port inaugurated?

Shri Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Shipping, represented India at the inauguration of the Chabahar Port on 2-4 December 2017.

Sources

This article reports what the sources state at their date and does not add facts from elsewhere. Figures, office holders and agreements may have changed since. Diplo is independent and not affiliated with any government. Suggest a correction.