An Indian company opened its office and took over operations at the Shaheed Behesti Port at Chabahar in Iran on Monday, after officials from India, Afghanistan and Iran agreed on the trade routes and transit corridors between the three countries. The trade routes resulting from the agreement will bypass Pakistan completely.

The India Ports Global Limited company took over operations after “positive and constructive” discussions between the three countries, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said, according to PTI.

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The officials decided to permit cargo movement at Chabahar using the provisions of the Transports Internationaux Routiers Convention, the ministry added. An event to popularise the potential of the port will be held on February 26, 2019. The officials also agreed to create a protocol to address transit, roads, customs, and consular matters at the earliest.

The second meeting, held at the level of secretaries or deputy ministers, will be conducted in India, the ministry said.

There were also negotiations on preferential trade agreements between the three countries, the Iranian government-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. As per these kinds of agreements, the participating countries impose lower tariffs on goods produced in the member-states than the non-member nations.

Seyyed Mojtaba Mousavian, the director-general of the Asia-Pacific Department of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, said that the final negotiations will determine what goods will be subject to preferential tariffs, as well as the discounts on these goods. “Preferential tariffs have a significant effect on reducing the price of goods in the target country,” he told the news agency. “When the customs tariff of a commodity is calculated at five percent instead of 10 percent, that commodity becomes more competitive than other goods.”