According to media reports, Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister said on Saturday that India is ready to invest $20 billion in the development of the Iranian Chabahar port.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik)Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday that India is ready to invest $20 billion in the development of the Iranian Chabahar port, local media said.

Pradhan met with his Iranian counterpart Bijan Zangeneh in Tehran on Saturday, to discuss oil and gas cooperation and other projects in this field.

"India is prepared to develop Chabahar Port and I will pay a visit to the region on Sunday," Pradhan said, as quoted by the Shana news agency.

In 2003, Iran and India agreed to develop the Port of Chabahar, located in the Gulf of Oman on the border with Pakistan. The project was suspended following the introduction of international sanctions against Iran.

In May, India and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the port once the international sanctions against Iran were lifted, stipulating that India would lease two docks for a period of 10 years, a move expected to cut India's crude oil and urea transportation costs by one-third.

It was noted in the governmental statement that under the terms of the memorandum, India can operate two berths in Chabahar Port as part of a 10-year lease before transferring the equipment back to Iran, and operations are to begin within 18 months after the contract has been signed.

In July, the UN Security Council approved a resolution to lift the sanctions on Tehran in exchange for guarantees of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.