'Basic imperative of N-deal, IPI project is to secure energy'

Ajay Kaul
Tehran, Nov 2 (PTI) Drawing a parallel between the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal and the I.P.I. gas pipeline, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday said the basic imperative of both was to secure energy as he invited Iranian investment in India, particularly in oil and gas sectors.

Outlining the contours of "new" India's foreign policy in
the current "international matrix" with particular focus on
ties with Iran, he said the relations between the two nations
with civilizational linkages needed to be looked at "afresh".

He talked about the challenges like terrorism and climate
change facing Asia and stressed the importance of close ties
between India and Iran for stability of the region.

Addressing a seminar on 'India and Iran: Ancient
civilizations and modern nations' here, Mukherjee underlined
that New Delhi's foreign policy will remain independent and
guided by the interests of its own people even while it
strengthens ties with the U.S., Russia, China or any emerging
economies of Asia, Latin America and Africa.

"We are working on a realisation that an economy that is
growing at 8 to 9 percent would require investments, energy,
resources and technology at an hitherto unprecedented scale,"
he told a gathering of Iranian intellectuals and policymakers.

Referring to the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, he said the sharp
rise in fuel prices and the country's huge energy needs for
next 20-25 years had made New Delhi to conclude that "there is
no alternative but to develop nuclear energy" as 50 percent
of its energy requirements are met by coal and fossil fuels.

"The basic imperative of the India-U.S. civil nuclear
agreement is the same as that which binds us to the
Iran-Pakistan-India (I.P.I.) gas pipeline – our energy needs
are too large to be met from any one single source," he said.

Mukherjee's drawing of a parallel between the Indo-U.S.
nuclear deal and the I.P.I. project infers that the U.P.A.
government is giving equal importance to the atomic agreement
and the gas pipeline project with Iran.

This assumes significance as the U.P.A. government has
been accused of putting the I.P.I. project on the back-burner
because of the Indo-U.S. deal.

Mukherjee cited the close civilisational ties with Iran
and said the two countries share common interests and
perceptions on many regional issues.
On the trade and economy front, he said important projects
in sectors like oil and gas, steel, fertilizer, infrastructure
and railways are being discussed and implemented.

The Minister said his government is encouraging India's
public and private companies to invest in Iran and hoped such
projects for "mutual benefit would continue to enjoy the
support of the government of Iran".

While talking about the interest of Indian companies in
Iran's hydrocarbon sector, he said "We would like Iranian
investment in India, especially in the oil and gas sectors."

Pointing out that Iran is a very important producer of
hydrocarbons and India a major consumer, Mukherjee said there
could be mutually-beneficial long-term arrangements, including
the agreement on supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (L.N.G.) or
the proposed I.P.I. gas pipeline project.

Iraian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who jointly
inaugurated the seminar with Mukherjee, said that political
and economic relations between the two countries were good but
there was "abundant room" to expand these. He invited Indian
investment in various Iranian sectors, including hydro-carbon.

Mottaki said India and Iran have common views on various
issues, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan where both want
peace and stability. "There may be misunderstandings or
mischievous acts by third parties but we have to go beyond
those."

Mukherjee said India is in the midst of a "deep-rooted
socio-economic transformation" and that "this major churning"
was taking place in a "complex and very difficult regional and
international environment."

India, therefore, has to engage purposefully with outside
world and at the same time keep its national moorings intact.

"Our foreign policy, therefore, is dictated by the
interest of our people for growth and development. This is
supplemented by an equally strong impulse of engagement with
the world order – but on terms which our people and our
principles would find acceptable," he said.

Underlining that independence and equality have always
been at the core of India's foreign policy "no matter how
difficult the circumstances and even when we stood alone", he
cited the case of N.P.T. and C.T.B.T.

"In both these treaties, we faced, and sometimes faced
alone, the brunt of critical international opinion and
pressure simply because we refused to engage on terms which
were fundamentally unequal," Mukherjee said.

He said India's refusal to join these treaties did not
mean that it is not opposed to nuclear weapons and that the
country has always played a responsible role in this field.

"Today, we live in an inequitable, yet more
inter-dependent world order," he said, adding that while the
Cold War has ended, trans-national challenges are growing.

"Our needs from the world have changed as has our
capability to achieve these needs," Mukherjee said.

Elaborating on India's foreign policy, he said the
country has always played by the rules of the existing world
order "when we have perceived them to be equitable and
consequently agreed to accept them."

On India-Iran ties, he said it was "natural" for the two
countries to have diverse approaches on many issues. "But
notwithstanding such divergences, the impulse towards similar
positions on a whole range of economic, political and
strategic issues will remain strong." PTI A.K.K.
RKM