Inaugural Address by Minister of State for External Affairs Dr Shashi Tharoor at International Seminar on New Dimensions of Indo-Arab Relations (Maharaja College, Ernakulam, 11 August 2009)
Dr V A Mohandas, Principal, Maharaja’s College
H.E. Dr Noureddine Bardad-Daidj, Ambassador of Algeria to India
H.E Mr Khidir Haroon Ahmed, Ambassador of Sudan to India
H.E. Dr Ahmed Salem Saleh Al-Washishi, the Chief Representative of the
League of Arab States Mission in India
Dr Ebraheem Mohammad Al Batshan of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
Dr Jameela Beevi, Vice Principal
Prof VN Chandramohan, Syndicate Member of MG University
Prof Jayakumar, Syndicate Member, MG University
Dr Liaqath Ali, Head of Arabic department
Faculty Members, Ladies and Gentlemen
And my dear Students,
I am honoured and delighted to be here to inaugurate this international seminar on “New Dimensions of Indo-Arab Relations” in this prestigious college in my home State, which is also a seat of excellence of learning in India. It gives me immense pleasure to further note that this Seminar is being organized in the Maharaja’s college with the support of the Policy Planning and Research Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. As some of you are no doubt aware, the Policy Planning Division of the Ministry of External Affairs undertakes studies on general foreign policy issues. For this purpose, it maintains interaction and liaison with the Area Studies Centres of the University Grants Commission. The Division also extends financial assistance to various academic institutions and think tanks located in different parts of the country for holding conferences, seminars and for research. Kerala has a long history of openness to the rest of the world and that is why we are particularly happy to be associated for this event with the Maharaja’s College.
2. I am happy to see the presence of many eminent personalities here including Ambassadors and diplomats from many Arab states. This will certainly provide this Seminar an added profile. The deliberations as well as recommendations of the Seminar will carry greater weight and reach the appropriate audiences. I would like to compliment the organizers of the Seminar for their initiative and their efforts to make this a memorable event.
3. India-Arab relations is a subject close to my heart. Personally, not only have I travelled to several Arab countries in the course of my international career, but after I left my job at the UN, I was temporarily resident in Dubai in my bid to work with various institutions to bring, amongst other things, quality and affordable education to my home state of Kerala. This put me in direct contact with Arab people and I have come away very impressed not only with their intrinsic abilities and entrepreneurial skills but also with their deep sense of appreciation of the historic, cultural and civilizational ties that bind India and the Arab countries. As a student of history as well as an ardent believer in the importance of history in shaping our destiny I propose to deal today with some aspects of our historical relations with Arab countries. This will show all of us how our relations cannot be anything but excellent.
4. Our ties predate our emergence as nation states. Not only did Arabs and Indians knew each other before the advent of Islam but it is said that the Arabs even played a crucial role in the emergence of the very notion of “Hindustan” and even in giving a name to the religion of Hinduism. We can argue whether it is to the Arabs, Persians or Greeks that we owe the concept of the Hindu – the people who live across the river Sindhu or Indus – but there is no doubt that the people of India were referred to as Hindus by the Arabs long before the Hindus themselves called themselves Hindus.
5. The Arabian Sea, which washes the shores of both our regions, has played a crucial role in the cultivation of our relations. India’s cultural links with West Asia can be traced to the early years of recorded history. There is evidence, for instance, of trade links between the Harappan civilization and that of Dilmun in the Gulf. In pre-Islamic times, Arab traders acted as middlemen in trade between Bharuch in Gujarat and Puduchery and the Mediterranean through Alexandria and even through the Palakkad gap as evidenced in archaeological finds of Roman coins and artefacts in southern India. On-going excavations in the Red Sea coast continually produce fresh evidence of perhaps even older links. And it is no accident that so many distinguished Arab families in many different Arab countries bear the surname al-Hindi, or that Hind is still a desirable name used by many Arab women.
6. Some scholars trace Indian studies on the hadith to the early days of the arrival of Islam in India in the South in the 7th century and in the north in the 8th century AD. Islamic scholars from the turn of the 8th Century AD to al- Baruni (d.1048 AD) have, in their writings, documented Indo-Arab cultural links, including Indian contributions to Arab thought and culture. Translations of Indian works were sponsored by the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad where, especially under Harun al-Rashid, Indian concepts in secular subjects ranging from medicine to mathematics and astronomy were absorbed into the corpus of Arab scientific writing. Scholars have also documented the compilation of a large number of Indian works in Quranic studies over the last 500 years as also in Islamic jurisprudence over a slightly longer period. Perhaps less remembered today is the contribution of Indians to Islamic scholarship in the medieval period. Amongst notable scholars was Shah Waliullah of Delhi and his descendants. Indeed, so important were these contributions that in an article in West Asia and the Region brought out last year by the Center for West Asian Studies of Jamia Millia Islamia, the following tribute from the Lebanese scholar Rasheed Rada is to be found:
If our brothers, Indian Ulama had not taken care of the science of hadith in this period, the same would have disappeared from the Eastern countries, because that branch of knowledge had become weak in Egypt, Sham (Syria Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine), Iraq and Hijaz since the 16th century A.D and it reached its weakest point at the beginning of the 20th century A.D.
7. Travellers between India and the Arab world were the vehicles not only for scholarly exchanges but also for cultural interaction at a popular level. Much of the Sufi tradition is the result of Indo-Arab interaction and Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, whose shrine at Ajmer is visited by people of many faiths, was himself an Arab. Over centuries, stories from the Panchatantra have blended with the Fables of Aesop and stories from Alf Laila wa Laila or the Arabian Nights. Some Arab travellers, such as the Moroccan Ibn Batuta occasionally found themselves elevated to positions of power by their hosts; Ibn Batuta was, for a while, made the Qazi of Delhi, even though he was unfamiliar with the school of Islamic jurisprudence used in India. As Dr Liaqath Ali has reminded us, many Arabic words can be found in several languages particularly in Hindi and Urdu.
8. The adventures of seafarers who have ridden the waves and tides of the Arabian Sea on their dhows are the stuff of legend. I have even heard that story that it was an Indian seafarer who regularly traveled between Kerala and the Arab settlements on the east coast of the African continent who might have guided Vasco da Gama to the Indian coast at Kozhikode. It is for scholars of history to debate on the accuracy of this tale, but what is not debatable is that these ties have hundreds if not thousands of years of antiquity and are responsible for the civilizational melting pots that all of us have inherited and thrived in. Another compelling example would be enough to illustrate my point and this is the worldwide use of what are known in the West as Arabic numerals, but which the Arabs themselves acknowledge they learned from India.
9. The early years of the 20th century, marked as they were by the beginning of the end of Western colonialism, witnessed much interest in the fortunes of the Arab and Islamic world within our own freedom movement. The Khilafat struggle perhaps best exemplified this. And one of our great nationalist leaders, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, was born in Mecca and studied at the famous al-Azhar University of Egypt. The leaders of our freedom movement closely monitored developments in Egypt and other countries, a trend that was also noticeable after we gained freedom. The struggle of the FLN in Algeria and President Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal and the Suez Crisis of 1956 were but two important historical developments that found resonance in India’s support for our fraternal Arab peoples.
10. Having said that, let me now move to our contemporary relations. Just because we have had centuries-old relations does not mean that we do not have to endeavour to sustain and nurture our present day relations. If anything, it needs more hard work by all concerned so that we are not lulled into complacency. The bedrock of goodwill between our two regions allows us to build a strong edifice of substantial contemporary relations. India considers the Arab region very important role in shaping our political, economic, defence and security policies at both the regional and global level. Let me make it very clear. Our approach on issues affecting the Arab world is based on principles, not expediency. India has endeavored to follow the spirit of South-South solidarity and cooperation in its dealings with the Gulf and Arab world. In this context, it is not surprising to note that that the number of flights to the Gulf region, for instance, is more than the total number of flights from India to the rest of the world.
11. Whereas the world has heard of our “Look East” policy in South-East Asia, as far as the Arab world is concerned, we are proud that we have a “Look West” policy too, and “West” here does not refer to Europe or America. In keeping with our desire to strengthen our relations with the countries of the region we are trying to put in place a structure of multifaceted cooperation covering all sectors. It is a matter of satisfaction that our efforts are being matched in equal measure by the countries of the Arab world. 2008 witnessed several high-level visits, bilaterally manifesting the importance of the region in our relationship, peaking with our Prime Minister’s visit to Qatar and Oman in November 2008. The visit of the Vice President of India to Kuwait in April 2009 opened up new facets for cooperation.
12. Let me take this opportunity to address one important aspect of India-Arab relations i.e. the issue of Palestine. India’s solidarity with the Palestinian people and its attitude to the Palestinian question reflects, perhaps more than any other issue, the enduring nature of Indo-Arab ties. It was as early as in 1936 that the Congress Working Committee sent greetings to Palestine and on 27 September 1936 Palestine Day was first observed in India. The 1939 Session of the Indian National Congress adopted a Resolution on Palestine and looked forward to the emergence of an independent democratic state in Palestine in which Jewish rights would be protected. India was a member of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine. In 1974, it became the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In March 1980, the Government of India announced in Parliament India’s decision to accord full diplomatic recognition to the PLO office in New Delhi. It was after this that the late Yasser Arafat paid a three-day official visit to India in March 1980. It was during this visit that Mr. Arafat described India as “an eternal friend”. In 1988, India recognised Palestine as a State. Construction of the Palestine Embassy building in New Delhi, a gift of the people and Government of India, is nearing completion. The continuing tradition of exchange of high level visits, which saw us welcoming President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in June 2008 and President Mubarak of Egypt in November 2008, also witnessed a State visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to New Delhi in October 2008.
13. India has had a consistent and unwavering record of support for the Palestinian cause since the days of our freedom struggle. Our policy is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 of 1967 and 338 of 1973, the Quartet Roadmap and the Arab Peace Initiative. India supports a united, independent, viable, sovereign state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognised borders side by side at peace with Israel. We have expressed concern for the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. India also supports Palestine in a variety of tangible ways. In March 2009, $10 million were contributed as budget support for the Palestine National Authority. We also assist Palestine in developing its human resources through the ITEC programme.
14. Reverting to the broad nature of India-Arab relations, Arab countries, as vital sources of oil and gas whether from the Gulf or more recently from Egypt, Sudan and the Maghreb, have become essential to India’s energy security needs. Indian companies have secured concessions or have otherwise invested in the oil sector significantly in Sudan, Egypt and Libya. Less publicized, perhaps, is the enormous importance to India’s food security of countries such as Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria as providers of rock phosphate and phosphoric acid and potash, all of which translate into fertilizer for our farmers.
15. Egypt has emerged as a significant Indian investment destination with Indian investments estimated at over US $500 million. Some Indian companies are also exploring possibilities of setting up plants to manufacture phosphoric intermediates in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Jordan. We are also examining the possibilities of working together with Syria in this regard.
16. Besides the hydrocarbon and fertilizers sectors, Indian companies have executed or are in the process of completing a variety of projects including those financed by concessional lines of credit. Examples include a thermal power plant in Sudan, a cement plant in Djibouti, an architecturally complex bridge in Jordan and a variety of projects in Libya.
17. Our trade with Arab countries is booming. A look at our figures of trade with the Arab world is illuminating. For instance the Gulf region has emerged as a major trading partner of India. During 2006-2007 the total two-way trade was US $ 47 billion and in the year 2007-08 it reached more than US$ 76 billion. Trade with the non-Gulf Arab countries totaled more than US$ 13 billion in 2007-08. Total trade with Arab countries was about US$ 90 billion in 2007-08.
18. I am happy to inform you that to give a boost to trade relations, we are negotiating with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to conclude an India-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This would complement our ongoing and rapidly expanding bilateral economic engagement with individual member countries of GCC. The third GCC-India Industrial Conference, which was held in Mumbai in 2007, was a success and it has further consolidated our economic interaction. We are working to hold the fourth GCC-India Industrial Conference later this year.
19. India has always shown its willingness to share with our Arab brethren our experience and expertise in institution and capacity building, governance, science and technology including Information Technology and biotechnology, healthcare and higher education including training of Arab officials, diplomats, soldiers and scholars. ISRO/Antrix Corporation was awarded a contract in July 2008 for launch of the Algerian satellites. Antrix has completed a remote sensing project involving setting up of an earth station in Algeria using Indian CARTOSAT imagery. India and Egypt concluded an agreement on the peaceful use of outer space during President Mubarak’s 2008 visit. Cooperation in Information & Communication Technology is another area worth mentioning. Recently, Memoranda of Understanding and agreements relating to this area have been signed with Tunisia and Syria.
20. The Secretary General of the League of Arab States and my good friend, H.E. Mr. Amre Moussa, visited India in November-December 2008.I am happy to inform you that during this visit the Memorandum of Cooperation between India and the League of Arab States on the establishment of an Arab-Indian Cooperation Forum was signed in New Delhi. This is a very comprehensive document that looks at deepening our relations in many sectors including energy, education, human resources development and trade and investment. We are looking forward to the spirited implementation of the Memorandum which we are sure will take our relations to new heights. I look forward to cooperation from all to carry this ambitious agenda forward. In this context, I am happy to note that last December, the Ministry of External Affairs worked with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry to organise the first Indo-Arab Cultural Festival in New Delhi with the support of various Arab Missions and governments. The Government of the UAE has recently selected Indian books for translation into Arabic to enhance understanding of our country’s history and literature. We too study Arabic here, as the presence of so many Indian scholars of Arabic here today testifies.
21. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Arab world has always figured very high in India’s foreign policy priorities. India considers the Arab world a key part of its strategic neighbourhood. The Arab world is the only region for which the Government of India has appointed a Special Envoy. India has worked with its Arab friends in a variety of multilateral forums including the United Nations, the Non-aligned Movement and the G-77. India is a major troop contributor to UNIFIL and provides elements to UNDOF. Indian peacekeepers also serve with the UN Mission in Sudan, UNMIS, which acts in support of the Comprehensive Peace Accord of January 2005.
22. Allow me to turn to a subject which is close to the hearts of people of Kerala – the welfare of the Indian community in the Arab countries in general and the Gulf region in particular. The people of India in the Gulf and the Arab world have contributed immensely to the economic development of both India and the countries they reside and work in. The remittances that India receives from the 4.5 million expatriates in Gulf, many of them from Kerala, in the order of more than US$ 10 billion annually, make a significant contribution to India’s economic development. In view of the large Indian population in the region, a number of issues come up from time to time in our relations with these countries which relate to our people-to-people contacts and to consular matters. Active steps have been taken and are continually being taken, in cooperation with the countries of the region, to promote the welfare of the Indian community, particularly expatriate workers. Memoranda of Understanding on manpower have been signed with some countries and are under negotiation with others. These and similar arrangements will enable us to jointly deal with issues relating to the welfare of the expatriate Indian communities in the region. I would like to take this opportunity to assure the people of Kerala that our Government gives high priority to the welfare of Indians in the Gulf and if anybody needs any help or assistance in this regard, my Ministry together with that of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs will always be at your service.
23. India desires to strengthen cooperation to explore opportunities across the entire spectrum of potentialities that exist. We wish to work together today with an eye on tomorrow: to consolidate our ties in emerging sectors of the economy so that we can develop a framework for future generations. Our economies are complementary. In many areas, countries in the Arab world have the capital, while India offers the opportunities, especially for the development of infrastructure. The more the long-term linkages that India and the Arab world develop, the greater will be our mutual stakes and interests in each other’s success and prosperity. I want to assure our Arab friends that it is not only financial investments that we are thinking of: we are invested in the future of our relationship.
24. To summarize, I would like to underline that we have in place a framework for cooperation, which is constantly deepening and widening. While its pace could be faster, a critical mass has already developed to take us into a qualitatively upgraded relationship. There are many dimensions to Indo-Arab relations, some very old and some very new. I am sure the deliberations of this seminar will examine these relations from all perspectives and offer recommendations for augmenting our multi-dimensional cooperation. I look forward to reading and acting upon the recommendations of the seminar.
25. I would like to add another word on a broader theme. I believe strongly that foreign policy is too important a subject to be left to the Foreign Ministry alone. Discussion of international relations should not be confined to the seminar rooms of Delhi. That is why I am delighted by the initiative of Maharaja’s college because I believe all Indians, even 2000 km away from our nation’s capital, have a vital stake in the development of our international relations. I am sure there will be many more such occasions in the future to discuss our country’s external affairs in different parts of India and that we will have the privilege, as we do today, of seeing distinguished diplomats travelling out of Delhi to attend them. I call upon other educational institutions in this state and across India to emulate this example. I wish you well in your deliberations today.
Thank you.