Do you know about the Ashgabat Agreement? If not then it’s time you do. Through this article, you will learn about the Ashgabat Agreement in detail. We will be touching on various aspects related to the Ashgabat Agreement. Therefore, make sure you read the entire article thoroughly. 

Important Facts About The Ashgabat Agreement 

• The Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkmenistan, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Uzbekistan agreed on April 25, 2011, regarding the establishment of an international transport and transit corridor. 
• India was later counted to the Agreement which is known as the Ashgabat Agreement on 1st February 2018. 
• On  23rd March 2016 the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, approved India’s accession to the Ashgabat Agreement, an international trade and transit corridor that will ease the movement of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. 
• The Ashgabat Agreement anticipates the development of an International Transport and Transit Corridor between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf, which was recently signed by India in the year 2018. 
• The Gulf countries and Central Asian Republics (CARs) will be benefited from this corridor, which is said to improve communication, cargo, trade, and transit. India has taken a step further in its efforts to improve connectivity with Eurasia by joining the Agreement.

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The Essence Of The Ashgabat Agreement

• On April 25, 2011, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s capital, an agreement was signed between Turkmenistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Oman, and Qatar to build a new international trade and transit corridor. 
• The ‘Ashgabat Agreement,’ as it is called, laid the groundwork for the development of the shortest commercial route which connects the CARs with Iranian and Omani ports. 
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on various components such as the legal, procedural, and infrastructural of the agreement, was signed on August 6, 2014, in Muscat.
• Kazakhstan applied for membership in the same year that Qatar withdrew from the pact. In 2015, the Coordination Council Meeting in Tehran authorized its membership. 
• The agreement’s importance was boosted by Kazakhstan’s membership, as it is the region’s largest economy. Pakistan’s desire to join the Agreement was also announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who appealed to the member-states for approval of Pakistan’s participation at the Global Sustainable Transport Summit in Ashgabat in November 2016. 
• It has not, however, been able to secure the agreement of all four original members.
• During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the five CARs in July 2015, India’s ambition to join the Ashgabat Agreement received a boost. On March 23, 2016, the Union Cabinet approved India’s accession to the Ashgabat Agreement. “Accession to the agreement would enable India to use this existing transport and transit corridor to shoot trade as well as commercial interaction with the Eurasian region,” said an official statement from the Cabinet Meeting. Additionally, this would align with our attempts to establish the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for improved connectivity.” 

The Significance Of The Ashgabat Agreement

• It Ashgabat Agreement enables India to use the current transport and transit corridor to encourage trade and commercial relations with the Eurasian region.
• It would synchronize India’s endeavors to enforce the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for improved connectivity.
• India would get a chance to reorient the freight traffic to the transcontinental land pathways from the conventional Seaways.
• The operation of a multi-purpose terminal at Chabahar including India’s plan to build a 610 km north-south railway from Chabahar to Zahedan couldn’t have been realized unless India joined a Central Asian-led transport mechanism.

Let’s also read about the Paris Agreement to enhance the scope of our knowledge.