New Delhi, Oct 17 (UNI) Japan’s Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu today said his country was very much interested in the Chabahar project, which would provide connectivity to India to Central Asia through Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan. The strategically located Chabahar project in Iran is seen as a counterweight to China’s presence at Gwadar in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. 'Chabahar has great strategic importance as it would connect south Asian countries to Central Asia and Turkey through Afghanistan, and Japan can certainly help the countries developing the project,' the envoy said in interaction with journalists organised by Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents. While stating his country’s strong interest in the project, he, however, said so far no concrete discussion with any of the stakeholders had taken place. 'We have had some preliminary discussion on the project. We can certainly help,' Mr Hiramatsu said. A trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan was signed recently. According to experts, collaboration by Japan in developing the Chabahar port in south-eastern Iran and an industrial complex will be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. UNI NAZ AE RJ 1946