With peace getting another chance in the Middle East after the meeting between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, India is ready to play a bigger role in the region.  

"We have a huge stake in West Asia. Peace is the overriding necessity in the region and it will certainly make our job easier to play a more effective role in the region," India's special envoy to West Asia (Middle East) Chinmoy R. Gharekhan said recently.

"Historically, we have had excellent relationship with the Arab world. And our relations with Israel are growing," He said.

Gharekhan, whose appointment was announced on the eve of the January 30 elections, believes that it is the perfect time to expand Indian cultural and media exchanges with countries in West Asia now that situation there is improving.

Gharekhan's statement is a reflection of what the Indian government is doing in its foreign policy-making. According to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India is adopting a "proactive strategy" to strengthen relations with West Asia that has now become central to the government's foreign policy.

The prime minister said at the end of last month that the focus on West Asia, in particular Iraq and Palestine, was prompted by the realization that the developments there had a direct impact on the political, economic and energy security strategy of India.

India's strategic and economic needs have shifted greatly since the end of the Cold War. During the Cold War, India's foreign policy was guided by Nehru's legacy of non-alignment, with close ties to Egypt, the Palestinian movement, and a generally favorable standing within the Arab world. However, this policy has shifted almost in its entirety since India and Israel engaged in developing defense and technological ties in the 1990s.

To soothe the resentment of the Arab countries, Indian diplomats have tried to restore the balance that was lost during the previous government.

Manmohan Singh reiterated the recently forgotten Indian commitment of support to the Palestinians for a "viable and independent state of Palestine living in peace and prosperity within secure boundaries and in peaceful coexistence with Israel."

The Indian envoy to the Middle East also agreed that his country can have excellent relations with both Arab countries and Israel. "It can't be one relation at the cost of another," He added.

"The Palestinian cause has been dear to us. At the same time, we supported the creation of Israel as an independent state. Our relations with Israel are growing. But that doesn't mean our ties with Arab countries have cooled off," Gharekhan said.

He said India would follow an independent foreign policy in the region. "This doesn't preclude our cooperating with the US if it's in our national interest."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also expressed India's deep interest in West Asia in forging not just political but economic relations. He spoke of seeking investments from that region for "broader long-term economic relations" through institutions like the Gulf Cooperative Council.

West Asian governments have been taking a keen interest in the Manmohan Singh government, looking for a visible shift in what was widely perceived as the pro-Israel policy of the last government.

Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed's visit to Ramallah, Palestine last year to meet the then aging Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat evoked a positive response. Diplomats of the region spoke with optimism about "stronger and better" relations with India. 

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2005)