Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan): India, Iran and Afghanistan have agreed to develop a new 'Silk Route' to enhance trade with Central Asian countries, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said on January 31.

"The route will utilise Chah Bahar Port of Iran to send goods through Afghanistan and to Central Asian countries. It is being estimated that this new route will cut distances by 1,500 km," Sinha, who is on a visit to Bishkek, said in his address to the Kyrgyz National State University.

India, he said, was going to construct 200 km of this new road, which might usher in an entirely new era of trade relations and people-to-people contacts between India and Central Asia.

"This new Silk Route of prosperity is India's wish for its relations with Central Asia," the minister said, recalling how the old Silk Route had provided a meeting point for China and India, carrying out a high volume of trade then.

Observing that energy and hydro-electricity were two other areas where a lot could be achieved, Sinha said India with its high demand for energy could import oil and gas from the region which had huge reserves.

"We can also work together for new pipeline routes and additional refineries," he said, calling for innovative ways to tap traditional goodwill and resources to best advantage.

Sinha also said New Delhi was considering setting up an Institute for Information Technology and a food processing plant as part of Indo-Kyrgyz co-operation programme.

PTI