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India-Iran Ties:us watches Ahmadinejad Visit, by Dr. Monika Chansoria, 1 May 2008 Print E-mail

Round The World

New Delhi, 1 May 2008

India-Iran Ties

us watches Ahmadinejad Visit

By Dr. Monika Chansoria

(School of International Studies, JNU)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s brief ‘working visit’ to New Delhi as part of his South Asia tour last month, was expectedly aimed at intensifying ties between the two countries. Deliberations in numerous key sectors ranging from energy, the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, talks on two multi-billion dollar energy deals and bilateral investments were on agenda.

However, the visit was shrouded with controversy even before Ahmadinejad’s arrival in New Delhi. The United States, which is keeping a close tab on the Iranian President’s movement in South Asia, appeared to be at unease with India-Iran ties as clearly reflected in the statement issued by the US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey: “New Delhi should urge Iran to curtail its nuclear programme and to cease enriching uranium. India should also put pressure on Iran to become a more responsible actor on the world stage and ask Iran to end its rather unhelpful activities with respect to Iraq.” Casey was obviously pointing towards Tehran’s support for promoting terrorism in Iraq.

The American statement didn’t go down too well with the Ministry of External Affairs. In its statement, New Delhi sought to rebuke Washington by stressing, “India and Iran are ancient civilizations whose relations span centuries. Both nations are perfectly capable of managing all aspects of their relationship with the appropriate degree of care and attention and neither country needs any guidance on the future conduct of bilateral relations.” Obviously, indicating that Ahmadinejad’s trip had triggered diplomatic barbs between New Delhi and Washington.

Further, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee appeared to placate Iran by suggesting to the US that New Delhi has always pursued an independent foreign policy. At the same time, not wanting the statement to be a subject of annoyance with the Americans, Mukherjee said: “We are advising Iran that since it is a signatory of NPT, it has some obligation to international treaties. We tell the US, do not take on yourself the responsibility whether Iran was manufacturing weapons or not.”

Ahmadinejad’s visit came at an opportune time for both nations, since the past months were not exactly downy vis-à-vis bilateral ties between Tehran and New Delhi. The former was apparently incensed by India’s vote against it at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As a matter of fact, India cast its vote in 2005 in favour of a resolution finding Iran in ‘non-compliance’ with its safeguards’ obligations under the NPT and expressing ‘the absence of confidence that Iran’s nuclear programme is entirely for peaceful purposes.’ Such statements indeed make it amply clear the American pressure on India to go against Iran was critical.

Moreover, the findings are under Articles XII and III, of the IAEA Statute, both of which mandate referral of the matter to the Security Council and hold out a thinly veiled threat of sanctions and other punitive measures. Reacting sharply to New Delhi’s vote, Tehran had threatened to reconsider its economic cooperation with India in September 2005. Ahmadinejad’s visit, however, was viewed as an opportunity to iron out these differences with Iran.

India has ever-mounting demands for energy. It imports over 70 per cent of its energy needs and desperately searches for energy partners to secure new supplies of oil and gas from abroad, other than revamping up domestic production to sustain its blooming economic growth. New Delhi deems Tehran, which has the world’s second largest known oil and gas reserves after Russia, to be a long-term energy partner.

Furthermore, New Delhi intends to revive a 2005 agreement that never got implemented thanks to the rising price of oil dramatically soon after. This agreement aims at importing 5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran. President Ahmadinejad’s visit might act as a catalyst in enhancing ties between the two nations particularly in the energy sector.

The Iranian President’s visit could well have boosted Indian state-owned ONGC’s chances of buying an equity stake in phase 12 of South Pars block in Iran. Apparently, Tehran has set a June 2008 deadline for Total Company of France and Royal Dutch Shell to finalize a deal to develop phase 11 and 13 of the South Pars or it would consider allocating the blocks to other firms. In case of a failure of meeting the deadline by the above-mentioned companies, India holds a chance to grab the opportunity to develop phase 11 and 13 of the South Pars block among other Asian companies that might be in consideration as well.

Another prominent issue that came up at talks was the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. The $7.6 billion project that would eventually supply gas to India via Pakistan through a 1,615-mile pipeline was dubbed as the ‘Pipeline for Peace and Progress.’ However, the project is unable to get past the jinx since it began in 1994. The plan has been stalled by disagreements over pricing and transit fees in addition to the incessant political discord between India and Pakistan.

New Delhi has been boycotting trilateral meetings on the Iran pipeline since mid-2007, citing that it wanted to first resolve the issues of transit fees and transportation tariffs with Pakistan. The proposed pipeline would initially carry 60 million cubic meters of gas daily to Pakistan and India, half for each country. The capacity would, at a later date be raised to 150 million cubic meters.

It is, however, said that India and Pakistan are expected to be just ‘days or weeks away’ from finalizing terms for the cross-border pipeline to import gas from Iran following talks in Islamabad on April 25. Following discussion on transportation tariff and transit fees, both Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and his Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Muhammad Asif told a joint press conference that: “We have agreed upon the fundamentals of the agreement. The whole process should not take a long time, may be few days or few weeks and the agreement will be concluded.” It appears that, the meeting was well-timed as both nations realized that pipeline diplomacy would likely be a core feature of the Iranian President’s visit.

Even though India would ideally not want another nuclear entity in the neighbourhood, it is likely to restate that Iran has the right to peaceful use of civilian nuclear energy. Clearly, in its dealings with Tehran, India is walking a tight rope since it tackles the conflicting imperatives of domestic politics with its strategic interests skillfully matching them.

Understandably, India appears to be in a quandary over the US-Iran conflict where spiraling Indo-US ties make it imperative for New Delhi to balance its relations with Washington and a galloping economy pushing it to forge collaboration with Tehran. Notwithstanding the growing American pressure, particularly after the signing of the India-US civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreement, brawny domestic constraints still loom large and prevent India from completely abandoning its ties with Iran.---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

 

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