New Delhi, May 6 (IANS): India inked a dealon Wednesday on the ccountry's participation in the development of Iran's Chabahar port.

The memorandum of undertanding was inked by Union Minister for Shipping and Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi in Tehran.

With this, Indian and Iranian commercial entities would now be able to begin negotiations on finalising a commercial contract under which Indian firms will lease two existing berths at the port and operationalise them as container and multi-purpose cargo terminals, an external affairs ministry statement said.

The availability of a functional container and multipurpose cargo terminal at Chabahar port would provide Afghanistan's garland road network system alternate access to a sea port, significantly enhancing Afghanistan's overall connectivity to regional and global markets, and providing a fillip to the ongoing reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in the country.

Chabahar port is located on Iran's southeastern coast and would provide India a sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.