President Dr. Hassan Rouhani on Monday announced that May 23 will henceforth be called the 'Day of Chabahar' as India, Iran and Afghanistan signed the historic Chabahar Agreement.
" This is a very important day for Iranians and now on it is going to be even more important because today is going to mark the day of cooperation between three of us, Iran, India and Afghanistan and from now on this day can be called the day of Chabahar, " he said at trilateral summit.
Asserting that it was an important day in the history of the relationship between the three countries, Iranian President said that Tehran, Delhi and Kabul would give this message to the region that the path of progress of the countries of the region goes through cooperation and utilization of regional opportunity.
"Of course the symbol of such cooperation is Chahbahar and Bahar means spring and it is a spring for three of us," he added.
President Rouhani said that with the joint investments in Chahbahar, his country could connect India through reliable route to Afghanistan and also to those countries in central Asia and even to CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.
"Today's document is not just an economic document. It is actually a political document and a regional one and the message of this document is that countries of this region need to utilize the opportunities provided by the region in order to develop and also expand on the regional cooperation," he added.
He pressed that the business people and entrepreneurs of the three country and other countries in the region could now count on a new international corridor.
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"There is also a room in this trilateral agreement for other countries and for the activities of other countries and in the near future other countries can join this document of cooperation as well," he said.
President Rouhani pointed that the agreement was not against any other country.
"Today's agreement is not going to be against any other country. Our joint activities are going to be useful and beneficial to the whole region relatively to the peace and stability in this region," he said.
Talking about the progress from here on regarding the agreement, he said that the three countries have assigned their ministers to look into the matter and review the progress.
"We made the decision that each of us will name a minister to follow up on the progress made in this project and from our side. From the Iranian side, I have named our Minister for Road and Urban Development for this matter, His Excellency Modi named the Indian minister for road and transportation for this and Mr. Ashraf Ghani , His Excellency is going to soon announce his minister, " he said adding, " These three ministers will meet regularly with each other and they will review the progress made in this project and come back to us with their progress reports."
Meanwhile, Afghan President Ghani lauded the Chabahar agreement saying, "100 years from now, historians will remember this day as the start of regional cooperation.
