The Ministry of External Affairs announced that India has been admitted to the Agreement on the Establishment of an International Transport and Transit Corridor, which is already in force among Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
- All the four founding members have consented to the accession of India to the agreement.
- The approval for India to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement was given by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.
- This would help in diversifying India’s connectivity options with central Asia and to add to it, this agreement would have a positive influence on India’s trade and commercial ties with the region
- After approval of the Cabinet, India had deposited the instrument of accession with Turkmenistan in April 2016.
- Ashgabat Agreement would synchronise with India’s efforts to implement the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for enhanced connectivity.
About Ashgabat Agreement
- The Ashgabat agreement is a Multimodal transport agreement between Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and India.
- The "Ashgabat Agreement," was originally signed on April 25, 2011, among the four founding members - Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
- The Ashgabat Agreement envisages facilitation of transit and transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
- The basic idea behind this agreement is to create an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
- India formally joined Ashgabat agreement on 2nd February 2018.
- Pakistan had formally joined the Ashgabat Agreement in October 2016.
- The objective of this agreement is to enhance connectivity within Eurasian region and synchronize it with other transport corridors within that region including the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
