India trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019: Gadkari

India is trying to make the strategic Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Gadkari was on a two-day visit to Tajikistan to represent India at a global conference on "International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development".

"...India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019... opening up of the Chabahar Port would make the CIS countries more accessible," the shipping minister said in a statement here today.

Gadkari was addressing the Indian Community at the inauguration of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre at the Indian Embassy in Dushanbe.

The statement said the minister also spoke at length about the efforts and initiatives taken by the NDA government in the last four years, and about the massive work being done in the infrastructure sector, with national highways being built at an unprecedented pace of 28km/day.

"India's image and respect has grown across the world in the last four years and our rankings have improved globally on various parameters like ease of doing business, cleanliness etc," the statement said quoting Gadkari.

It said the minister held wide-ranging talks with Sirodjidin Muhridin, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan and the two leaders underlined the need to give further impetus to the ongoing bilateral cooperation in various fields and agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in the area of sustainable water development.