India and Iran, on Monday, 16 July, deliberated on ways to deal with the possible impact on oil trade between the two countries due to the US sanctions on import of Iranian petroleum products.
The issue figured during 15th round of Foreign Office Consultations between the two countries during which a host of other issues including implementation of Chabahar port project also figured, official sources said.
While Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale led the Indian delegation, the Iranian side was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi.
"Views were also exchanged on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including the efforts being made by various parties to address issues that have arisen over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said without elaborating.
Both sides positively assessed progress in implementation of decisions taken during Iran President’s visit to India, especially for enhancing connectivity and strengthening cooperation in trade and economic issues, and in promotion of people-to-people exchanges.Ministry of External Affairs Statement to ANI
The ministry said it was agreed to “maintain the momentum of mutually beneficial multi-faceted bilateral cooperation and exchanges” between the two sides and to hold the next round of Joint Commission Meeting at the level of External Affairs Ministers in November in Iran.
In the meeting, India told the Iranian side that it was yet to take a call on complying with the US sanctions. The Iranian deputy foreign minister, in turn, conveyed to the Indian side that his country has been a reliable energy partner for New Delhi and it should remain so, sources said.
Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil between April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of fiscal 2017-18).
Sources told PTI that India may request the US to consider providing it some waiver from the sanctions on import of Iranian oil.
They said India is looking at the possibility of falling back on the rupee-rial arrangement for importing oil from Iran in the wake of US sanctions.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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