Sushma Swaraj 2-day Iran visit to begin today

In Tehran, Ms Sushma Swaraj will meet her Iranian counterpart Zarif to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations with a major focus on ramping up ties in energy and trade sectors.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will embark on a two-day visit to Iran from Saturday, aiming to step up engagement in a range of areas including oil and trade, as the strategically important Persian Gulf nation is now ready to resume business as usual after lifting of sanctions under a historic nuclear deal.

The visit by Ms Swaraj to the oil-rich country comes nearly two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra travelled to Saudi Arabia, another influential country which considers Iran its rival.

Iran is an important country for India for its energy security as well as to get access to oil and gas-rich Central Asian nations and Ms Swaraj’s visit to Tehran is seen as a balancing act following Mr Modi’s trip to Riyadh during which both the countries had signed a number of pacts.

Following lifting of sanctions against Iran, India has been eyeing deeper energy ties with that country and has already lined up $20 billion as investment in oil and gas as well as petrochemical and fertiliser projects there.

According to the news agency reports from Iran, Ms Swaraj will leave for a two-day trip to Moscow to attend the annual foreign ministers’ meeting of RIC (Russia, India and China). On the sidelines of RIC, Ms Swaraj is expected to meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during which she is likely to raise the issue of China blocking India’s bid to get Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN.

In Tehran, Ms Swaraj will hold extensive talks with her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday during which entire gamut of bilateral relations will be reviewed with a major focus on ramping up ties in energy and trade sectors. The External Affairs Minister will also call on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.