NSA Ajit Doval and his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani on Monday held wide-ranging talks in Tehran focusing on the development of Chabahar port, the situation in Afghanistan, and bilateral trade-economic engagement.

The two officials discussed economic, political, and security issues concerning the two countries as well as the most important regional and international developments, Iran's IRNA news agency reported.

Doval said the recent agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to normalize their diplomatic ties would have profound regional effects on changing relations in the international system. Emphasizing the need for cooperation between Iran and India to boost stability in Afghanistan, Doval said the two countries should work together to eradicate Takfiri terrorism in the country. He said India considered the Chabahar port, in southeastern Iran, as a gateway for increased cooperation between Iran and India, reported IRNA news agency.

“The expansion of relations with India as a major member of both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the BRICS group of emerging economies could help advance the Islamic Republic’s strategy of forging closer economic cooperation with member states of those organizations. Russia and China, two of Iran’s most powerful allies in BRICS and the SCO, have welcomed Iran’s application to join the two groups and an application to join the SCO is on the verge of being approved,” it stated.

Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, noted in the meeting that Iran-India ties are not against any other country and that global and regional developments have created a ground for strengthening the relations, it said.

He identified energy, transportation, technology, and banking as areas for bilateral cooperation.

Doval's visit to Iran comes ahead of a foreign ministerial meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Goa this week.

India is the current chair of the SCO and Iran is set to be made a permanent member of the grouping at its annual summit later this year.

The implementation of the Chabahar Port project in Iran is a key focus area in the bilateral ties between New Delhi and Tehran.

Recently, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi strongly pitched for faster implementation of the Chabahar port project as well as the use of the facility by India to send various shipments saying the key transit hub will benefit both countries.

He also said that there is a need to look at the Chabahar project beyond economic perspectives.

Image source: IRNA