Daily Hopes For Revival In Indo-Iranian Ties

Tehran, May 24, IRNA - Tehran-New Delhi have always been eager to maintain close ties for various reasons, including historical, economic, cultural and political ones. Elucidating on the recently held elections in India, the English-language newspaper ˈIran Dailyˈ in its editorial published Saturday believes that new horizons can be seen for a revival in Tehran-New Delhi ties. What is needed is action on the part of both countries to serve their national interests, stressed the paper. India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections with 282 seats out of 543 seats of the Lok Sabha (House of the People or Lower House), routing the opposition to the extent that no other single party could win even the 10 percent of seats required to get the opposition leadership, it noted. On the basis of the BJP election manifesto as well as the policies followed by the BJP leader Narendra Modi in Gujarat state, where he served as chief minister, the party will follow a pragmatist approach, focusing on economic progress by harnessing the capabilities of its trade partners. Many reasons prevail for the Congress Party fall, it noted adding that some reasons are domestic and well known to Indian voters and others. Indians by tradition are very sensitive about their independence. But the Congress during its last mandate got so close to the US that in some cases, according to many Indian critics and analysts, that played the role of US proxy in the region, the paper said citing ˈanti-Iranˈ policies as an example. However, in the last Congress administration, India’s national interests regarding its ties with Iran were somehow compromised due to its close ties with Washington, it said, citing some offshoots of this policy which are as follows: A few years ago, Iran-India signed a deal to develop the Chabahar Port with New Delhi investing $100m, which did not materialize. Despite India’s exemption from sanctions to purchase Iran’s oil, Tehran is now the seventh supplier of oil to New Delhi while earlier it ranked second. This indicated the Congress government’s subservience to Washington, which hurt Iraniansˈ sentiments on the one hand and the Indians who cared for their sovereignty on the other. Although New Delhi could pay for the oil it purchased from Iran in kind, it failed to act under different pretexts which undermined the very philosophy of the proverb: “A friend in need is a friend indeed”, the daily pointed out. India was one of the pioneers of Iran’s North-South Corridor and hosted several meetings, but took no steps to activate it under the influence of the US and other anti-Iran circles. This, in the long run, will prove detrimental to India itself, the paper said. During the rule of Congress Party, Iran was included in the list of seven countries whose nationals were denied visas on arrival. This pinched the Indian foreign exchange earning, not only because of the reduction in Iranian tourists but which also hurt the feelings of the Iranian tourists, it noted. While Iran expended huge funds on the peace pipeline to transfer gas from Iran to India via Pakistan over the last two decades, New Delhi has neither officially quit the project nor has it taken any serious steps in this regard, it said. This is the second time BJP has formed the government, and with them in power, Indian voters who care for their independence will be gladdened to find national interests once again take precedence over those of foreigners’, the daily said. One of the main areas where government policies will undergo change is India’s diplomacy, the editorial believes. Tehran-New Delhi enjoyed strong ties when the BJP was in power the last time, the daily noted, expecting Modi to take concrete measures to revive those ties. In fact, improvement of ties with countries that complement the Indian economy will help Modi achieve those goals, it suggested, adding that the new government’s strong mandate increases the possibility of a stable central government that will pursue an economic agenda to achieve India’s micro- and macroeconomic goals. India’s foreign policy is expected to focus on countries such as Iran that can meet the country’s energy needs and also serve as a market for Indian goods, services and technology. Access to Central Asian and European markets via Iran will also help Premier Modi create jobs and increase foreign exchange earnings, it said. Interestingly, the new Iranian government has also announced the policy of constructive interaction with other countries. Hence, the stage is set for a new phase of positive interaction, concluded the editorial./end