India-Iran Relations India-Iran Relations

India-Iran Relations

Embassy of India

Tehran

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India-Iran Relations

Overview

       India and Iran share a millennia-long history of interactions. The contemporary and relationship draws upon the strength of these historical and civilisational ties, and continues to grow further marked by high-level exchanges, commercial and connectivity cooperation, cultural and robust people-to-people ties.

Political relations;

2. India and Iran signed a friendship treaty on 15th March 1950. The visit of Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Iran and the signing of the Tehran Declaration in April 2001, followed by the visit of President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami and the signing of the New Delhi Declaration in 2003 deepened the India-Iran cooperation. The two documents identified areas of cooperation and set the strategic vision for the India-Iran partnership.

3. The bilateral relations were further boosted by the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016. During the visit, a joint statement titled “Civilizational Connect, Contemporary Context” was issued, and 12 MOUs/Agreements were signed. The Trilateral Agreement on Trade, Transport and Transit between India, Iran and Afghanistan was also signed during the visit. President Rouhani visited India in February 2018, during which a joint statement titled “Towards Prosperity Through Greater Connectivity” was issued. The two sides signed 13 MOUs/Agreements during the visit.

4. There have been two Parliamentary speaker-level visits between India and Iran, with Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar visiting Iran in 2011, followed by a return visit by the Speaker of Majlis, Dr Ali Larijani to India in 2013.

5. Prime Minister Modi and President Raisi met for the first time on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of State Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September 2022, during which both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral cooperation, especially in trade and connectivity. The two leaders also met on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in August 2023.

6. External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Iran in January 2024. EAM had visited Iran in July and August 2021 where he called on President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian visited India in June 2022. During the visit, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on Civil and Commercial Matters was signed. In August 2022, Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping attend Waterways visited Iran, during which the MoU on Recognition of Certificates of Competency in Unlimited Voyages between Iran and India was signed.

7. The two countries have in place several Bilateral Consultative Mechanisms at various levels including the Joint Committee Meeting (JCM), Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), Security Consultations at the level of National Security Advisers and Deputy National Security Advisers, and the Joint Consular Committee Meeting (JCCM). India and Iran also have Joint Working Groups to facilitate cooperation in various sectors of mutual interest.

Connectivity

8. India and Iran signed a MoU in 2015 to jointly cooperate on the development of the Shahid Beheshti Port at Chabahar, Iran. India continues to cooperate closely with Iran in realizing the vision of Chabahar Port as a major regional and international hub in the movement of humanitarian and commercial goods.

Trade Relations

9. India and Iran are important trade partners. India has been among Iran’s five largest trade partners in recent years. Major Indian exports to Iran include rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals, manmade staple fibres, electrical machinery, artificial jewellery etc. while major Indian imports from Iran consist of dry fruits, inorganic/organic chemicals, glassware, etc.

Cultural Cooperation and People to People Relations

10. Civilizational links between India and Iran continue to be the source of robust people to people and cultural ties. The Indian Cultural Centre established in 2013 and renamed the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC) in 2018 is helping further these cultural ties. The major tourist destinations in India and Iran continue to attract tourists of all ages from both countries.

(As on April 2024)

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High level visits between India and Iran

Prime Ministerial level

Outgoing visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

22-23 May 2016

Bilateral

2.        

Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister

28-31 August 2012

To attend the 16th Non-aligned Movement (NAM) summit

3.        

Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister

10-13 April 2001

Bilateral

4.        

Shri Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister

September 1993

Bilateral

5.        

Shri Morarji Desai, Prime Minister

June 1977

Bilateral

6.        

Smt. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister

April 1974

Bilateral

7.        

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister

September 1959

Bilateral

 

Incoming visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Dr. Hassan Rouhani, President

15-17 February 2018

Bilateral

2.        

Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President

April 29, 2008

Bilateral

3.        

Mr. Mohammad Khatami, President

24-28 January, 2003

Chief Guest at the Republic Day function

4.        

Mr. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, President

April 1995

Bilateral

5.        

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahalvi

February 1978

Bilateral

6.        

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahalvi

February/March 1956

Bilateral

Vice Presidential level

Outgoing visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Shri Jagdeep Dhankar, Vice President

22 May 2024

To attend official ceremony to pay condolences on the tragic demise of H.E. President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, H.E. Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other Iranian officials

2.        

Shri M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President

04 August 2013

To attend swearing-in ceremony of President Dr. Hassan Rouhani

3.        

Shri K. R. Narayanan, Vice President

October 1996

Bilateral

Incoming visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Dr. Mohammad Javad Mohammadizadeh, Vice president and Head of department of Environment

November 2012

11th Conference of Parties (CoP) of UN Convention on Bio-diversity in Hyderabad

Parliamentary exchanges

Outgoing visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Smt. Meira Kumar, Speaker of Lok Sabha

November 2011

Bilateral

Incoming visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Dr. Ali Larijani, Speaker of Majlis

24-28 February 2013

Bilateral

2.        

Nazar Afsali, Chairman of India-Iran Parliamentary friendship group

26-28 February 2018

Bilateral

Ministerial level

Outgoing visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,   External Affairs Minister

14-15 January 2024

Bilateral

2.        

Shri Sarbananda Sonowal,   Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways

18-21 August 2022

Bilateral

3.        

Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,  External Affairs Minister

5-6 August 2021

To attend the swearing-in of President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi

4.        

Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,  External Affairs Minister

7 July 2021

Bilateral

5.        

Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,  External Affairs Minister

22-23 December 2019

To attend 19th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM)

6.        

Shri Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Shipping

2-4 December 2017

To represent India at the inauguration of the Chabahar Port

7.        

Smt. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister

2 December 2017

Bilateral

8.        

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping

5 August 2017

To attend swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Dr. Hassan Rouhani

9.        

Shri M J Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs

10-12 September 2016

Bilateral

10.        

Smt. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister

16-17 April2016

Bilateral

11.        

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas

8-10 April 2016

Bilateral

12.        

Smt. Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Development

19-21January 2016

Special Guest in the 10th International Energy Management Conference

13.        

Shri. Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister

03-05 May 2013

17th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM)

14.    

Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy

March 2012

Bilateral

15.    

Shri S M Krishna, External Affairs Minister

May 15-17, 2010

14th G-15 Summit

16.    

Shri Pranab Mukherjee , External Affairs Minister

July 29-30, 2008

15th NAM Ministerial Conference

17.    

Shri Pranab Mukherjee , External Affairs Minister

February 6-7, 2007

Bilateral

 

Incoming visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, Minister for Defense and Armed Forces Logistics

27-28 April 2023

To attend the meeting of the SCO Defense Ministers

2.        

Dr. Hossein Amir Abdollahian

8-10 June 2022

Bilateral

3.        

Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami, Defence Minister

2-4 February 2022

To attend the First Indian Ocean Defence Ministers Conclave and Aeroindia 2021

4.        

Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister

14-17 January 2020

To attend Raisina Dialogue 2020

5.        

Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister

13-14 May 2019

Bilateral

6.        

Mr. Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Roads & Urban Development

9-12 January 2019

Bilateral

7.        

Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister

7-9 January 2019

To attend Raisina Dialogue 2019

8.        

Dr. Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Minister of Health and Medical Education

12-14 December 2018

Bilateral

9.        

Mr. Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Roads & Urban Development

6-7 September 2018

Bilateral

10.        

Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister

28 May 2018

Bilateral

11.        

Mr. Bijan Zangeneh, Minister of Petroleum

11 April 2018

To attend the 16th International Energy Forum in New Delhi

12.        

Mr. Mohammad Jahromi, Minister for Communications and IT

23-24 November 2017

To attend the Global Cyber Conference

13.    

Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister

4 December  2016

To attend 6th Heart of Asia-Istanbul process Ministerial Conference in Amritsar

14.    

Dr. Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Transport and Urban Development

27-30 September 2016

Bilateral

15.    

Dr. Ali Tayyebnia, Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance

26-28 December 2015

18th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM)

16.    

Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister

13-14 August 2015

Bilateral

17.    

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping

May 5-7 2015

MoU on Chabahar

18.    

Mr. Akbar Torkan, Presidential advisor and Secretary of high Council of Free Zones

12 -15 January 2015

To attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit

19.    

Dr. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister

28 February, 2014

Bilateral

20.    

Eng. Majid Namjoo, Minister of Energy

October 2012

To attend the Global Ministerial level “International Seminar on Energy Access”

21.    

Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati, Senior Advisor to Supreme Leader on International Affairs

December 2011

Bilateral

 

Secretary level

Outgoing visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary(ER)

24 June 2024

19th Asia Cooperation Dialogue Ministerial Meeting

2.        

Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Foreign Secretary

25 – 26 November 2023

18th Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs)

3.        

Shri Vijay Gokhale, Foreign Secretary

16 September 2019

16th Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs)

4.        

Shri Gopal Krishna, Secretary (Shipping)

26 February 2019

To attend Chabahar Day Event 2019

5.        

Shri T.S. Tirumurti, Secretary (ER)

23-24 October 2018

1st Coordination Council Meeting on Trilateral Transit Agreement between Afghanistan, India & Iran (Chabahar Agreement)

6.        

Shri Alok Srivastava, Special Secretary (Shipping)

3-6 September 2017

6th Joint Committee Meeting on Ports and Maritime Cooperation

7.        

Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary

16-17 May 2017

14th Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs)

8.        

Rajiv Kumar, Secretary (Shipping)

November 31- December 2, 2015

Regarding Chabahar Port project

9.        

Shri Rajeev Mehrishi, Finance Secretary

25-26 July 2015

Bilateral

10.        

Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary

June 13-14, 2015

Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs)

11.        

Smt. Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary

July 2011

9th Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs)

Incoming visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Ahmad Khani Nowzari, Deputy Minister for Commercial Development Office, Ministry of Agricultural Jihad (Head of Delegation)

04 to 08 February 2024

Bilateral

2.        

Ali Fekri, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of the Islamic Republic of Iran

13 December 2023

Bilateral

3.        

Alireza Peyman Pak, Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Trade and Market Regulation

31st August to 2nd September 2023

Bilateral

4.        

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Mehdi Borumandi

10th June 2023

Bilateral

5.        

Mr. Mehdi Safari, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy

12-13 April 2023

1st India-Central Asia JWG on Chabahar Port

6.        

Dr. Meisam Abedi, Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology

21-23 March 2023

Bilateral

7.        

Mr. Ali Bagheri Kani, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs

24 November 202218th Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs)

17th Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs)

8.        

Mr. Mehdi Safari, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy

15 June 2022

Bilateral

Think Tanks/Others

Outgoing visits

Sl. No.

Name of dignitary

Duration

Purpose of visit

1.        

Amb. Vijay Thakur Singh, Director General (ICWA)

14-17 January 2024

ICWA-IPIS Dialogue

2.        

Dr. T.C.A. Raghavan, Director General (ICWA)

12-13 October 2019

ICWA-IPIS Dialogue

3.        

Shri Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President ,ICCR

3 December 2018

Bilateral

4.        

Shri Jayant Prasad, Director General, IDSA

23-26July 2016

Bilateral

5.        

 Shri Vinod Rai, Comptroller and Auditor General of India

June 2012

Bilateral, at the invitation of Supreme Audit Court of Iran (SAC)