Iran’s Rouhani to visit India this week

AFP
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks in his press conference at the presidency compound in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani will visit India this week for three days, local media reported on Monday.
Rouhani is due to leave for India on Thursday to discuss “the latest regional and global developments,” the semi-official ISNA news agency said.
He was invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, ISNA said.
India and Iran have collaborated on key projects, most notably the Chabahar port in southeastern Iran that was inaugurated in December.
The port has been touted as a way for India to establish trade routes that bypass its rival Pakistan, but the project has seen multiple delays.
India has been a key purchaser of Iranian oil and gas, and maintained trade ties even as international sanctions were imposed on Iran over its nuclear program between 2012 and 2016.
However, there have been tensions in the relationship, with the Indian media reporting frustrations over delays in awarding a contract to develop a major gas field known as Farzad B in the Arabian Gulf.
That led India to announce it was reducing its oil imports from Iran in protest in March 2017, leading Tehran to say it was restricting credit lines to India.