Following the official visit of Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran to New Delhi on June 8-9, 2022, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) hosted an interaction (in hybrid format) with HE Mr. Ali Chegeni, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to India on June 22, 2022. The Participants who were physically present for the discussions included Amb. Ashok Sajjanhar, Amb Skand Tayal, Lt. Gen Ravi Sawhney, Amb Anil Trigunayat, Prof Sujit Dutta, Brig Vinod Anand, Gp. Capt. Naval Jagota and Cdr Shashank Sharma. Amb D. P. Srivastava, Amb Satish Chandra, Dr Sreeradha Datta joined the discussion virtually. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director VIF delivered the Opening remarks, followed by the remarks of H.E. Ambassador Mr Ali Chegeni. The agenda for the discussion broadly centered on India-Iran relations, connectivity and the regional security issues.

India-Iran relations are intertwined with deep cultural and historical ties which has become the foundation for the contemporary multifaceted relations between the two countries. Iran plays a critical role in facilitating India's connectivity with Central Asia. The Iranian envoy further emphasised that Chabahar is an important component of INSTC and that inclusion of Chabahar in INSTC makes it more economically viable. Since COVID-19 pandemic, trade between India and Iran has dropped. Both sides have expressed concerns about falling trade. India and Iran both agree that Afghanistan should not be used as a base for terrorist activity and that Afghan territory should not be exploited against any other country. The ambassador also made a strong pitch for continuing humanitarian assistance to Afghan people.

The talk by the Ambassador Ali Chegeni generated good interest and there were many points of discussion.