India-Iran-Armenia trilateral is crucial to Indian’s search for alternative trade routes

NEW DELHI : Recent cataclysmic events in Syria may have rendered India’s search for alternative and faster trade routes more critical. Last year during the G20 summit in Delhi India, together with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdel Aziz, had launched the initiative for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).

This trade route, consisting of a multi-modal transport Corridor, was meant to connect India to the UAE, from where it traveled overland via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine,  and Israel and further to Greece and Europe. This would expedite the transportation of freight while cutting down costs.

India’s search for alternative trade routes to the existing one through the Suez had begun long ago. Still, it was expedited first after the Suez blockade of 2021 and later by the trade disruptions caused by Yemen’s Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea through which goods from Asia and Africa sailed to pass through the Suez into the Mediterranean Sea.

Yet, the Hamas-Israel war being waged since 7th October 2023 had put the IMEEC project in cold storage for now. The changes in Syria have added another layer of complexity as the region has plunged into more uncertainty. This made the recent trilateral consultations between India, Iran, and Armenia so significant. Iran and Armenia have now emerged as key to India’s connectivity aspirations to Europe,  via the Eurasian landmass, bypassing the Suez.

On December 12, New Delhi held The Second India-Iran-Armenia Trilateral. J.P Singh, Joint Secretary, PAI Division led the discussions from the Indian side. The delegations from Iran and Armenia were led by H.E. Mr. Hashem Ashja’ Zadeh, Director General of the South Asia Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and H.E. Ms. Anahit Karapetyan, Head of Asia-Pacific Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, respectively.

The first such trilateral was held last year in April in Armenia.  A statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said “Building on the outcomes of the previous trilateral consultations held in Yerevan in April 2023, the three sides discussed connectivity initiatives, engagement in multilateral fora, and regional developments….The officials also explored ways to promote trade, tourism, and cultural exchanges while strengthening people-to-people ties.”

Over the past few years, cooperation between these three countries has been increasing. Traditionally India has enjoyed close and cordial relations with Iran. India also has historical and civilizational ties with Armenia. Iran and Armenia share a border and close historical ties.

The Armenian Diaspora which appeared in India by the 18th century made their way through Iran. The three countries, though very different at first glance, share a common challenge – difficult neighborhoods. Their historically cordial relations have since paved the way for closer bilateral relations and are evolving into trilateral cooperation.

The key to this cooperation is connectivity and trade routes. India, scouring for faster and more cost-effective trade corridors both to its east and west, has been working on implementing the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) which would link it to the Russian Federation through Iran, it had launched the initiative for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) last year, more recently it activated the Vladivostok-Chennai Maritime Corridor.