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Menon’s visit shows continuity: Ahamed

E. Ahamed

Fujairah (UAE): Ties between India and Iran are on a sound foundation and the recent visit to Tehran by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, has reaffirmed the continuity of our relationship, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed has said.

Relations with Iran were deeply rooted in our history and civilisation, Mr. Ahamed told The Hindu.

Asked to respond on India’s position on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, the Minister said India was very much a part of the project. “The apprehensions expressed in some quarters about our participation have now been dispelled. We have never given up on the project,” he said.

The Minister said there were commercial issues such as the fee that Pakistan would charge India for the transit of gas. New Delhi and Islamabad would address these concerns bilaterally.

Mr. Ahamed made these comments after visiting the two Indian naval ships, INS Brahmaputra and INS Tabar, on a goodwill visit to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Minister said the relationship with Saudi Arabia had acquired a new dimension after King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s visit to New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also referred to the strengthening of this relationship in his recent message sent to the Saudi leadership through the visiting Haj delegation.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee would visit Saudi Arabia in January, the Minister said. He would also arrive in Oman on January 13.

Mr. Ahamed said India’s quota for the Haj pilgrimage had been expanded and more than 1,10,000 Indians went to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage through the Haj Committee.

Commenting on the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the recent summit of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Mr. Ahamed said it was in India’s interest to see greater stability in the region. India welcomed all efforts to deepen the understanding between Iran and other countries of the region.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would visit India shortly, Mr. Ahamed said. He added that India was now very much a part of the international diplomatic efforts to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue. Mr. Ahamed recently attended the Paris donors’ conference for the Palestinian territories.

Earlier, India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Talmiz Ahmad, said the conditions were now ripe for a rapid expansion of ties between India and the Gulf countries. With the end of the Cold War, they had begun to take fresh notice of India and its potential. The revolution in IT had underlined the significance of India as a player in their neighbourhood.

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