In what may be seen as a big boost for bilateral trade ties, Iran is planning to buy 250 diesel locomotives from India.
Saeed Mohammadzadeh, the Iranian Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development and Chairman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR), has confirmed the news, saying that he recently discussed the issue with senior officials of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Mohammadzadeh, who met Indian Ambassador to Iran Saurabh Kumar in Tehran over the weekend, told the envoy: “The contract for this purchase will be signed in less than six months.” He also informed the Indian diplomat that the Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation (IDRO) of Iran had signed an agreement with two Indian firms in September 2017 to finance the construction of a rolling stock manufacturing company in the West Asian country. For his part, IDRO Chairman Mansour Moazzami said that the rolling stock manufacturing company would be built in an underdeveloped area.
Meanwhile, the Iranian minister thanked India for helping his country in developing the railway sector. Mohammadzadeh explained that the Hassan Rouhani administration decided to boost the railway sector in the next five years. On the basis of the sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2017-22), the government will have to increase the share of rail in cargo and passenger transportation from the current 12% and 8% to a minimum of 30% and 20%, respectively, by the end of 2022.

Russia, too, has agreed to help Iran strengthen the railway sector. Moscow signed a deal with Tehran to finance EUR 3 billion for joint manufacturing of 20,000 freight cars, 1,000 passenger cars, 350 locomotives and railway transportation equipment. The IRIR also signed an accord – worth EUR 720 million – with South Korean rolling stock manufacturing company Hyundai Rotem in the first week of December 2017 to produce 450 suburban railway cars in Iran.
It is to be noted that India and South Korea have decided to bolster ties with Iran, despite maintaining ‘friendly’ relations with the US. Both New Delhi and Seoul consider Tehran as their ‘trusted’ partner in West Asia. India has always maintained cordial ties with Iran and invested a huge amount of money in different Iranian projects. India believes that it can counter China’s growing influence in Asia with Iran’s help. America, which wants India’s help in Afghanistan, may have accepted that India and Iran will have some kind of relationship going forward.

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Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das