At the inauguration of the new export route, President Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan was slowly improving its exports in a bid to reduce its trade deficit. "Chabahar port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan this will ensure economic growth," he said.
The Iranian port provides easy access to the sea to Afghanistan and India has helped developed this route to allow both countries to engage in trade bypassing Pakistan. Last year the US government granted an exception to certain US sanctions that allowed development of Chabahar port as part of a new transportation corridor designed to boost Afghanistan's economy and meet their needs of non-sanctionable goods such as food and medicines.