Obama makes history with Hiroshima visit

Yahoo – AFP, Shingo Ito, May 27, 2016

US President Barack Obama (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake
 hands after laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on May 27, 2016
(AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Barack Obama paid moving tribute to victims of the first atomic bomb Friday, offering a comforting embrace to a tearful man who survived the devastating attack on Hiroshima.

In a ceremony loaded with symbolism, the first sitting US president to visit the city clasped hands with one survivor and hugged another after speaking about the day that marked one of the most terrifying chapters of World War II.

"71 years ago, death fell from the sky and the world was changed," Obama said of a bomb that "demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself".

"Why did we come to this place, to Hiroshima? We come to ponder a terrible force unleashed in the not-so-distant past. We come to mourn the dead," he said.

As crows called through the hush of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Obama offered a floral wreath at the cenotaph, pausing in momentary contemplation with his eyes closed and his head lowered.

The site lies in the shadow of a domed building, whose skeleton stands in silent testament to those who perished.

US President Barack Obama hugs Shigeaki Mori, a survivor of the atomic 

bombing of Hiroshima, at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park cenotaph on

May 27, 2016 (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe followed by offering his own wreath and a brief, silent bow.

After both men had spoken, Obama, whose predecessor Harry Truman gave the go-ahead for the world's first nuclear strike, greeted ageing survivors, embracing 79-year-old Shigeaki Mori, who appeared overcome with emotion.

"The president gestured as if he was going to give me a hug, so we hugged," Mori told reporters afterwards.

Obama also chatted with a smiling Sunao Tsuboi, 91, who had earlier said he wanted to tell the US president how grateful he was for his visit.

Ball of searing heat

The trip comes more than seven decades after the Enola Gay bomber dropped its deadly atomic payload, dubbed "Little Boy", over the western Japanese city.

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (AFP Photo/Adrian Leung)

The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people, some of whom died immediately in a ball of searing heat; others succumbed to injuries or radiation-related illnesses in the weeks, months and years afterwards.

A second nuclear bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki three days later.

The visit also marks seven years since Obama's memorable speech in Prague in which he called for the elimination of atomic weapons, a call that helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Crowds of young and old gathered to meet the American president, who retains enormous star power in Japan.

"We welcome President Obama," said 80-year-old Toshiyuki Kawamoto.

"I hope this historic visit to Hiroshima will push for the movement of abolishing nuclear weapons in the world."

'We listen to the silent cry'

Japanese and American flags flew on the street in front of the site, with a city official saying it was the first time the Stars and Stripes had been raised there.

As expected, Obama offered no apology for the bombings, having insisted that he would not revisit decisions made by Truman at the close of a brutal war.

As an eternal flame flickered behind him, however, he said leaders had an obligation to "pursue a world without" nuclear weapons.

"This is why we come to this place, we stand here, in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell.

U.S. President Barack Obama, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo

 Abe, right, leaves the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park after laying a wreath in 

Hiroshima, western Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first

 sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing 

global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without 

nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

"We force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. We listen to a silent cry."

"The world was forever changed here but, today, the children of this city will go through their day in peace," the US president said. "What a precious thing that is."

While some in Japan feel the attack was a war crime because it targeted civilians, many Americans believe it hastened the end of a bloody conflict, and ultimately saved lives.

Though there had been calls for an apology, public reaction to the visit and the speech was overwhelmingly positive.

Megu Shimomura, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, one of the selected guests at the ceremony, told AFP: "I was thrilled to attend the historic event. Obama is someone who lives in a very different world than I do but I felt his humanity."

Shinzo Abe praised the "courage" of the visit, which he said offered hope for a nuclear free future.

"An American president comes into contact with the reality of an atomic bombing and renews his resolve toward realising a world without nuclear weapons," he said.

"I sincerely welcome this historic visit, which has long been awaited by not only people of Hiroshima, but by all Japanese people."

The pilgrimage drew a less sympathetic response in other Northeast Asian countries where historical disputes with Tokyo over wartime and colonial aggression remain raw.

In a commentary released late Thursday, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency called Obama’s trek to Hiroshima an act of "childish political calculation" aimed at disguising the president’s true nature as a "nuclear war maniac".

"Obama is seized with the wild ambition to dominate the world by dint of the US nuclear edge," the agency said.

And in Beijing, the government-published China Daily newspaper ran a headline saying: "Atomic bombings of Japan were of its own making."

"The president gestured as if he was going to give me a hug, so we hugged." https://t.co/hpvOCKMYof #Hiroshima pic.twitter.com/b7yQf7ntA5

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 27, 2016

Related Articles:

Kerry 'deeply moved' by visit to Hiroshima memorial, urges Obama visit

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, where a 15-megaton device equivalent to a thousand

Hiroshima blasts, detonated in 1954. Photograph: US Air Force - digital version

Marshall Islands sues nine nuclear powers over failure to disarm
Islanders afraid to go home 60 years after Bikini Atoll H-bomb

A huge dome is shown in 1980 covering a crater left by one of the

43 nuclear blasts on Runit Island, in the Marshall Islands, the fallout

 from which is expected to last 25,000 years (US Defence Nuclear Agency/

AFP/File)

"Fast-Tracking" - Feb 8, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Fukushima / H-bomb nuclear pollution and a warning about nuclear > 20 Min)

North Korea is a 'big worry for all of us': Obama at G7

Yahoo – AFP, May 26, 2016

US President Barack Obama made the remarks about Donald Trump at a press
conference during the first day of the G7 summit in Ise Shima on May 26, 2016
(AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Ise-Shima (Japan) (AFP) - US President Barack Obama took aim at North Korea Thursday, calling it a "big worry" after a meeting with his G7 counterparts, as tensions escalate following Pyongyang's series of nuclear tests.

Obama made the remark at a briefing on the sidelines of Group of Seven talks in Japan where North Korea's provocations and its nuclear ambitions are among the topics on a packed agenda.

"North Korea is a big worry for all of us," Obama said.

North Korea held its first ruling party 

congress for nearly 40 years earlier this 

month, formally endorsing leader 

Kim Jong-Un's policy of expanding 

the country's nuclear arsenal (AFP Photo)

"It is not the thing that poses necessarily the most immediate risk. (But) when you have such an unstable regime that is so isolated, that poses the kind of medium-term threat that we have to pay a lot of attention to."

Tensions between North and South Korea have been running high since Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test in January.

In recent weeks, the North has made repeated proposals for military talks aimed at de-escalating the situation -- but the South has dismissed the offer as an "insincere" propaganda ploy.

The current administration of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye is adamant that substantive inter-Korean talks can only begin once the North makes a tangible commitment to denuclearisation.

Also Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged a return to talks with North Korea, during a visit to South Korea that has fuelled speculation of his presidential ambitions in his home country.

"We must find the path back to dialogue," Ban said at a peace and security forum.

North Korea held its first ruling party congress for nearly 40 years earlier this month, formally endorsing leader Kim Jong-Un's policy of expanding the country's nuclear arsenal.

In this frame taken from TV, delegates applaud during the congress in Pyongyang, 

North Korea, Saturday May 7, 2016. North Korea on Friday opened the first full 

congress of its ruling party since 1980, a major political event intended to showcase

 the country's stability and unity under young leader Kim Jong Un despite international 

criticism and tough new sanctions over the North's recent nuclear test and a slew of 

missile launches. (KRT via AP) 

The congress was seen as an elaborate coronation for the 33-year-old Kim, securing his status as supreme leader and confirming his legacy "byungjin" doctrine of twin economic and nuclear development.

The UN Security Council in March imposed its toughest sanctions to date following the January nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch the following month.

The North had already been subject to a range of sanctions because of earlier nuclear tests -- in 2006, 2009 and 2013 -- and a series of long-range missile tests presented as satellite launches.

The Security Council resolutions condemned the nuclear tests and rocket launches as a threat to international peace and security.

North Korea has challenged the sanctions, arguing that no international laws or agreements stipulate that nuclear tests are such a threat.

It has also noted that the Security Council never sanctioned the United States or other countries for their nuclear tests or ballistic missile launches.

Its long-held argument is its push for a nuclear deterrent has been forced by US hostility.

Related Articles:

Kim Jong Un's long-lost US-based aunt sheds light on leader's past - New
EU slaps North Korea with new sanctions - New

China restricts North Korea exports

North Korean defector criticises China in rare Beijing talk

"Quantum Patterns" - Jan 23 - 24, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

"... The Darkness Can't See Beyond Itself

I want to give you proof yet again of something unusual and very telling of the way low vibration works. Within the first channel of the year [2016], I spoke about the young North Korean leader. I'm going to do it again. I'm going to do it again as a profound example of how low consciousness cannot see above itself. That means that it can only work with what it sees and knows. As powerful, as smart, as intellectual as it thinks it is, it can't get out of its own circle.

The former leader of North Korea was a classic egotist. When he died, his son took over and could do anything he wanted. This boy had watched his father for decades and knew he would take over someday. Naturally, he inherited the attributes his father taught him of self-importance, and he also became egotistically driven to the max. When he took power, he had the choice to make changes that would allow him to be even greater than his father. He wanted something that would elevate his name and his position to the highest egotistic place imaginable. His father was the model, and now he could do anything he wanted to be even more famous. What happened is classic. He completely missed the greatest opportunity that any man has had to become the most famous and beloved person on the earth. The idea never occurred to him. Even though he had been educated in the western world, he missed it.

If he had considered the high road and included the earth instead of a restricted population of his own country, he could have been the most famous and beloved leader on Earth, all of his life. At the moment he took over, all he had to do was to think beyond his circle. He was in the unique position to be a "wild card" and do something amazing - unify North an South Korea, drop the zone of death that was between those countries, bring families together after generations, stop nuclear programs that he really never needed other than to look important and, thereby, give his people abundance, food for all and peace in his region. All of Korea would worship him and the earth would give a sigh of relief in thanks for his wisdom and courage.

He would have received standing ovations upon entering the United Nations great room and they would bow before him and give him the highest peace prizes. He would have his ego stroked and stroked and stroked and stroked and be far greater than his father had ever been. But it never occurred to him. Instead, he perpetuated the dark box he inherited, and now he presides over the lowest energy possible, representing the most dangerous renegade energy on the planet. At the expense of keeping his people poor and impoverished and creating instability in his region, he gets to be a powerful and famous person for a moment in time from a small population. He will not last long. He can't see that what he is doing has no support within the majority of the planet's population, and he will lose everything. Isn't it interesting how strong the circle is that keeps a low vibration low. All of this is beginning to change, dear ones. If you examine individual people and the way they act, you're going to see this coming. You're going to recognize it.  ..."

THE OLD SOUL 2013 TOOLKIT" – Jan 13, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll)  (Text version)

"... The Change in the Way Things Work

Now I'm going to be very cautious with number five, and I'm going to change a paradigm of the way we channel. For 23 years, we have given you information in the soup of potentials that we read around you as the highest probable potential that exists. These things eventually become your reality because they are your free choice, and we know what you're thinking. We know what the potentials are because we know what the biases are, and we see all of humanity as a whole. Potentials are energy, and it gives us the ability to project your future based on how you are working these potentials. We have done this for a long time. Twenty-three years ago, we told you about many things that were potentially going to happen, and now they are your reality.

But now I'm going to depart from that scenario and I'm going to give you a potential on Earth that is not the strongest. I am going to tell you about a Human Being who has a choice. This potential is only about 50 percent. But I'm going to "read a potential" to you that you didn't expect. It's about a paradigm that is starting to shift.

Let's talk about North Korea. There's a young, new leader there. The potential is that he will never, ever hear this channel, so I can talk freely about him. He is facing a dilemma, for he is young and he knows about the differences in the energy in his land. He feels it. The lineage of his departed father lies upon him and all that is around him expects him to be a clone of this lineage. He is expected to continue the things that he has been taught and make North Korea great.

But he's starting to rethink them. Indeed, he wants to be a great leader, and to be heard and seen, and to make his mark on North Korea's history. His father showed him that this was very important. So he ponders a question: What makes a world leader great?

Let's ask that question to someone in an older earth paradigm from not that long ago. He will be an expert and a successful one. So this is a valid exercise, asking someone from the past who knows. We will ask that question to a man who you know and whose name is Napoleon. For us, this was yesterday and some of you were there. 

If you asked Napoleon, "What makes a world leader great?", he will say, "the size of the army, how much area can be efficiently conquered with a given amount of resources and men, how important the leader appears will then be based upon how many citizens call him emperor or king, the taxes he can impose, and how many fear him." Not only was that Napoleon's reality, but he was right for the energy he was part of at the time. So Napoleon went back and forth between world leader, general and prisoner. He accomplished almost everything he set out to do. His expertise was obvious, and you remember his name to this day. He was famous.

What makes a world leader great? What I am showing you is the difference in thinking between then and now. There are some choices that this evolving young Human Being has that could change everything on the planet if he wanted. His father would tell this boy that what makes a world leader great is the potential of his missile power, or how close he can get to having a nuclear weapon, or how he stands up against the power of the West, or how he continues to aggravate and stir drama as a small country - getting noticed and being feared. His father would tell him that this is his lineage and that is what he's been told all his life. His father did it well and surrounded himself with advisors who he then passed on to his son.

Now, there's a 50 percent chance of something happening here, but this is not a strong potential, dear ones. I'm bringing this forward so you can watch it work one way or the other. For if the son continues in his father's footsteps, he is doomed to failure. The energy on the earth will see it as old and he will be seen as a fool. If, however, he figures it out, he could be the most famous man on the planet... which is really what his father wanted.

If Kryon were to advise this man, here's what I would tell him. He could be the greatest known leader the current world has ever known, for what he does now will be something the world will see as a demarcation point from the old ways. Not only that, but what he does now will be in the history books forever, and because of his youth, he has the potential to outlive every other leader on the planet! So he's going to have longer fame than anyone ever has.

I would tell him this: Tell the border guards to go home. Greet the south and begin to unify North and South Korea in a way that no past prophet ever said could happen. Allow the two countries to be separate, but have them as two parts of a larger Korean family with free trade and travel. Start alliances with the West and show them that you mean it. Drop the missile programs because you will never need them!

This will bring abundance to the North Korean people that they never expected! They will have great economic sustenance, schools, hospitals and more respect than ever for their amazing leader. The result would be fame and glory for the son, which the father had never achieved, something that the world would talk about for hundreds of years. It would cause a United Nations to stand and applaud as the son walked into the Grand Assembly. I would ask him, "Wouldn't you like that?"

Doesn't this seem obvious to most of you? He could achieve instant fame and be seen as the one who made the difference and started something amazing. But watch him. He has a choice, but it's not simple. He still has his father's advisors, but one of which he's already dismissed. He may get it, or he may not. There is a 50 percent chance. But I'll tell you that if he doesn't do it, the one after him will. Because it is so obvious. 

We show you this to tell you that this is the evolvement of the Human species. It is the slow realization that putting things together is the answer to all things, instead of separating them or conquering them. Those who start promoting compromise and begin to create these energies that never were here before will be the ones you're going to remember. Dear ones, it's going to happen in leadership and politics and in business. It's a new paradigm...."

Young Vietnamese quiz Obama on rap, weed and good looks

Yahoo – AFP, Jérôme Cartillier, Tran Thi Minh Ha, May 25, 2016

US President Barack Obama listens as a young female rapper sings a song
 at a town hall event in Ho Chi Minh City (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Barack Obama fielded questions Wednesday on everything from rap and weed smoking to his good looks at a lively meeting with young Vietnamese, who see the US leader as a far cry from their staid Communist rulers.

The US President, on the final leg of a three-day trip to Vietnam before flying to Japan, held one of his trademark town hall gatherings with hundreds of youngsters in the country's buzzing commercial and creative capital Ho Chi Minh City.

The president received a huge cheer as he took to the stage in a one-party authoritarian state where politics is opaque and young people's voices are rarely heard.

US President Barack Obama has been 

met with throngs of enthusiastic well-wishers

 in a country where politicians are notorious

 for their remoteness and lack of charism

(AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Suboi, one of the country's best known female rap artists, serenaded Obama with Vietnamese lyrics about whether people are really happy if they have lots of money.

Seemingly delighted with the exchange, Obama praised the journey of hip-hop "which started out as an expression of poor African Americans" and became a "global phenomenon".

He then appeared to take a thinly veiled swipe at Vietnam's authoritarian leaders, who regularly suppress critical artists.

"Imagine if at the time when rap was starting off our government had said 'No' because some of the things you say are offensive, or some of the lyrics are rude, or you're cursing too much?" he said.

"If you try to suppress the arts then you are suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of a people," he added.

Earlier another young man began his question with: "Mr President, you're so handsome."

To which Obama quickly quipped "Oh. You can just stop there if you want."

Dreaming of a father

Another asked whether Internet posts about Obama's alleged marijuana smoking as a youth were true.

In this combination of images made from pool video, U.S. President Barack 

Obama, left, listens as Vietnamese rapper Suboi raps during a town-hall style event 

for the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) at the GEM Center

in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Wednesday, May 25, 2016.

"I don't know if that's true," Obama quickly remarked, further dousing the issue with a warning: "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet."

But that particular exchange also prompted some soul-searching from Obama about leadership and growing out of a rebellious teenage phase prompted by the absence of a father.

"As I got older I realised that instead of worrying about the father who wasn't there, I should start worrying more about what can I do to take more responsibility for my own life," he added.

The environment was a subject that repeatedly came up. Vietnam is acutely vulnerable to climate change and environmental causes have been the focus of numerous protests against the authorities, especially among young people.

Young Vietnamese see US leader Barack Obama as a far cry from their staid 

Communist rulers (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

Obama said he recognised the freedom western industrialised countries have had to pollute the earth for far longer than developing ones, but urged all countries to work together to prevent disaster.

"The problem is, if a country like China or Vietnam or India took the same development path the West did, we're all going to be under water."

Obama has been met with throngs of enthusiastic well-wishers in a country where politicians are notorious for their remoteness and lack of charisma.

"I like his behaviour, being the most powerful man in the world, but very close to people, not like leaders here," said 22-year-old Tran Huu Duy. "They only wear suits and talk cliches... (they) cannot inspire young people."

Singapore kicks out Swiss bank linked to Malaysia's 1MDB

Yahoo – AFP, Elizabeth Law, 24 May 2016

Singapore's central bank has ordered the closure of the local branch of Swiss bank 

BSI, which has been linked to a scandal at Malaysia's troubled state fund 1MDB

(AFP Photo/Manan Vatsyayana)

Singapore (AFP) - Singapore's central bank on Tuesday said it was kicking out Switzerland's BSI Bank, which has been linked to a global money-laundering scandal that has embroiled neighbouring Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak.

In the toughest legal action so far in the crisis rocking Malaysian state fund 1MDB, Switzerland also disclosed it had launched criminal proceedings against the parent firm BSI SA for "deficiencies" in its internal organisation.

“BSI Bank is the worst case of control lapses and gross misconduct that we have seen in the Singapore financial sector," Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said in a statement.

MAS said it had asked state prosecutors to investigate six senior executives of BSI Bank for possible criminal offences and fined it Sg$ 13.3 million ($9.6 million) for 41 breaches of Singapore's laws against money laundering.

Among those facing investigation is former chief executive Hans Peter Brunner.

Two Singaporean executives of the bank are already facing criminal proceedings in the city-state, which is Southeast Asia's financial hub and hosts more than 200 banks.

BSI has been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since November 2005, offering private banking services to wealthy individuals.

The last time Singapore stripped a merchant bank of its status was in 1984, when the local branch of Jardine Fleming was shut down for "serious lapses" in its advisory work.

Najib, who founded 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2009, has battled allegations that billions were looted from the investment vehicle in a vast campaign of fraud and embezzlement stretching from the Middle East to the Caymans.

Swiss bank BSI has been linked to a global money-laundering scandal at 

Malaysia's state fund 1MDB (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

Denials

The fund, which ran up more than $11 billion in debt in a series of much-questioned investments, has steadfastly denied money was stolen or that it was in financial trouble.

Najib also faced questions after the Wall Street Journal revealed $681 million in transfers to his personal bank accounts.

But since the scandal erupted last year, Najib has weathered the allegations by curbing scrutiny by authorities, purging officials demanding accountability, and stifling media reporting.

He insists the $681 million was a gift from the Saudi royal family, most of which he returned. A Saudi official in April said that was true, but only after weeks of silence that cast doubt on the claim.

In a series of more recent reports, however, the newspaper said Malaysian investigation documents indicated more than $1 billion in 1MDB-linked money had been funnelled to Najib.

Najib and 1MDB vehemently deny that claim.

Najib has faced calls to resign but has tightened his grip on the ruling party and thwarted domestic investigations. His position is not seen as under imminent threat.

Singapore's MAS said it was "working closely" with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which has already approved the sale of the BSI parent firm to another Swiss-based bank, EFG International.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said Tuesday that it had opened criminal proceedings against BSI SA "based on information revealed by the criminal proceedings in the 1MDB case".

In Singapore, former BSI Bank relationship manager Yak Yew Chee is undergoing a criminal investigation for his dealings with a unit of 1MDB. His bank deposits have been frozen.

Separately, former BSI Bank wealth planner Yeo Jiawei, also a Singaporean, faces seven charges including forgery, money laundering, cheating and perverting the course of justice. He is in police custody and scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Malaysian PM Najib Razak has been under fire over allegations that billions of dollars

 were stolen from a state firm he founded, and his own admitted acceptance of a

murky $681 million overseas "donation" (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

Related Articles:

Malaysia cross-party alliance demands removal of PM

US subpoenas Goldman Sachs in 1MDB scandal investigation – report - New

United States Seeks to Recover More Than $1 Billion Obtained from Corruption Involving Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund - New

Switzerland opens criminal probe into Malaysian state fund

Swiss prosecutor asks Malaysia to help investigate 1MDB fund irregularities

Malaysia clears PM in scandal, says Saudis provided 'donation'

India and Iran agree port deal, reviving trade ties

Yahoo – AFP, Ali Noorani, May 23, 2016

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (centre) speaks at a joint press briefing with
 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
in Tehran on May 23, 2016 (AFP Photo/Handout)

Tehran (AFP) - India agreed Monday to finance the development of an Iranian port as a trading hub, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to revive economic ties with Tehran after the lifting of sanctions.

The Indian leader met Iranian officials including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani during a visit that he said would mark "a new chapter in our strategic partnership".

Modi and Rouhani oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the provision of a line of credit from India's EXIM Bank to develop Iran's southern port of Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on 

May 23, 2016 shows him (right) walks 

alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi during a welcome ceremony in

Tehran on May 23, 2016 (AFP Photo/HO)

Rouhani hailed the project, saying it could become a "great symbol of cooperation between Iran and India".

Modi's visit, the first by an Indian premier to Iran in 15 years, comes after international sanctions against Tehran were lifted in mid-January following an agreement with world powers over its nuclear programme.

Since that long-awaited agreement was reached in July, officials from dozens of mainly Asian and European countries have visited Iran to seek a share of its 80-million strong market.

India, China's greatest economic rival in Asia, is among the last regional powers to arrive.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Iran only days after the sanctions were lifted and pledged to expand trade to $600 billion in the next 10 years.

Xi's visit was in line with his signature foreign policy initiative known as "One Belt One Road".

Afghan corridor

The first train to connect China and Iran arrived in Tehran in February loaded with Chinese goods, reviving the ancient trade route known as the Silk Road.

President Park Geun-Hye of South Korea visited Iran at the beginning of this month.

Iran and South Korea decided to triple their annual trade volume to $18 billion and Woori Bank opened an office in Tehran, becoming the first South Korean lender to do so.

Modi and Rouhani were joined by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to sign a three-way transit accord.

The deal, bypassing Pakistan to connect Iran, India, and Afghanistan to central Asia, would boost economic growth in the region, Modi said.

"We want to link to the world, but connectivity among ourselves is also a priority," he said.

"The corridor would spur unhindered flow of commerce throughout the region. Inflow of capital and technology could lead to new industrial infrastructure in Chabahar."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani(C) meeting with Indian Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi (L) and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after signing a three-way

 transit agreement on Iran's southern port of Chabahar on May 23, 2016

(AFP Photo/Handout)

India thirsty for oil

The port, "when linked with the International North South Transport Corridor, would touch South Asia at one end and Europe at another."

Rouhani said it was "not merely an economic document but a political and regional one" with a message of regional opportunities for development.

He cautioned the agreement was not against any other country, but to the benefit of "peace and stability in the region".

"Other countries too can join this document of partnership in future."

The volume of trade between Iran and India in the past 11 months reached $9 billion, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.

India is reportedly seeking to double its imports of oil from the Islamic republic.

Tehran was New Delhi's second largest oil supplier until 2011-12, when the sanctions cut its dependence on Iranian oil.

India still owes Iran $6.5 billion that Tehran was unable to recover because of the international sanctions. India has begun paying back the debt.

In the evening, Khamenei received Modi.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, left, speaks with media during

 a joint press conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani after their meeting

 at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. (AP Photo/

Ebrahim Noroozi)

"As you mentioned, in addition to oil and gas, Chabahar, one of the major east-west and south-north connecting points can be a platform for deep, long-term and beneficial cooperations," he told Modi.

The Afghan president praised his counterparts and said the Chabahar partnership was only the beginning.

"I thank them because they believe that Afghanistan is going to be stable and they are wagering on our stability," said Ghani.

He also met Iran's supreme leader at the end of his brief visit.

"Iran will never withhold any technical, engineering or infrastructural help from Afghanistan to harvest its natural resources," Khamenei told him.

Related Article:

US, Britain, France, Germany back business with Iran