NSA Ajit Doval hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani

Tehran: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Monday held talks with his Iranian counterpart Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reported Iran's IRNA news agency.

The two officials discussed economic, political and security issues concerning the two countries as well as the most important regional and international developments. Doval is scheduled to hold talks with Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian at noon, reported IRNA.

India-Iran relations span through centuries and are marked by meaningful interactions.

Iran is located at a strategic and crucial geographical location between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea.
Iran is important to India as it provides an alternate route of connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics, in the absence of permission for India to use the land route through Pakistan.
It sits on one of the largest deposits of crude oil and natural gas in the world.

Iran and India closely cooperated in supporting the Northern Alliance government in Afghanistan against the Taliban in the 1990s.
India and Iran both face the threat of terrorism by outfits like Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Hence, there is a need for cooperation on this issue.
Iran has emerged as India's most viable transit option for trade with Central Asia and Russia. India, Russia, and Iran signed an agreement in 2000 for sending Indian Cargo to Russia via Iran through a 'North-South Corridor'.

International North-South Corridor which is a ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe, and Central Asia and aims to provide the shortest multi-model transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and St Petersburg.

The visit of Iran's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, Ali Bagheri Kani, to New Delhi in 2021 manifested a new chapter of relations between the traditional allies, India and Iran.
The visit was in alignment with the "Asia-oriented" foreign policy of the new Iranian government. (ANI)