Updated

India says it will invest up to $500 million in a deal to develop a strategic port in Iran and plan a number of projects they say are worth hundreds of millions of dollars in joint projects.

The deal and plans were announced Monday during a visit by an Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first such trip in more than a decade.

The two countries signed a number of agreements including the development of Chabahar port in southeast Iran, expanding a trade route for the land-locked countries of central Asia that bypasses Pakistan.

Modi said about $500 million is available from India for the project and that the oil and gas industries are key components to the future economic cooperation between Tehran and Delhi.