|
Keynote address by
Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Shashi Tharoor at the
inaugural session of the 2nd India-Arab Investment Projects Conclave
08/02/2010
My esteemed colleague and distinguished predecessor Shri Anand Sharma,
Hon’ble Ministers, dignitaries and Ambassadors from Arab countries,
Excellencies, Chairman FICCI, leaders and captains of industry &
business, distinguished guests and friends.
2. I have just stepped off a plane from the Arab world a few hours ago –
an overnight flight from Muscat, Oman, to be precise – and it gives me
great pleasure to be able to be with you to address this august
gathering. The 2nd India-Arab Investment Projects Conclave is both
appropriate and topical. The first India-Arab Investment Projects
Conclave in 2008 paved the way for stronger trade and investment
relations between the two regions. I am certain that this Conclave will
provide an enabling institutionalised platform for businesses and
investors from India and the Arab countries to cooperate and build
partnerships.
3. India and the Arab world share a close and historical relationship
marked by similar values. There is a genuine partnership and synergy
existing between India and the Arab world, which we are all endeavouring
to strengthen further. The paradigm re-alignment that has accompanied
changes in the global economic order, particularly after the financial
meltdown of 2009, have compelled us towards a major re-think on how we
should cooperate to face the challenges in front of us. Happily for both
of us, the framework for cooperation is readily available.
4. The Arab world constitutes an integral part of India’s extended
neighborhood and is a region of critical importance to India in
political, strategic, security and economic terms. India-Arab relations
are a subject close to my heart. In my professional and personal
endeavours I have had the opportunity to deal with many 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. These go back well before any of our
nations emerged as modern nation states.
5. The history of our links and contacts with each other, which span
several centuries, is well known. What the world knows as Arabic
numerals came to the Arab world from India. Not only did Arabs and
Indians knew each other before the advent of Islam, but it is even said
that the Arabs 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 lived 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.
6. 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 my ancestral area, 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.
7. 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 in the 11th century 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.
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 the story that it was an Indian seafarer who regularly travelled
between Kerala and the Arab settlements on the east coast of the African
continent, particularly Zanzibar, who might have guided Vasco da Gama to
the Indian coast at Kozhikode. It is for scholars of history to debate
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 which all of us have inherited and
thrived in. Recently, to recreate the magic of times gone by, a
traditional sailing boat, “The Jewel of Muscat”, has been built in Oman,
in large part by boat builders from Kerala, as a replica of the 9th
century dhows that sailed these waters. I had the great pleasure
yesterday of setting foot on the Jewel of Muscat and admiring how, in a
desire for authenticity, the builders have sewn the planks together with
coir fibre, rather than using nails. The Jewel of Muscat is about to set
sail on a journey from Oman to Singapore via Kerala and Sri Lanka, on
the route many of our forefathers regularly sailed. I am looking forward
to greeting it in Kochi in mid-March and hope many of you will join me
to celebrate its safe arrival there, Insh’allah.
9. So the Arab world has left an indelible imprint on India’s history,
on our culture and on our civilization. As a student of history I can
argue with confidence that the past has built us an excellent platform
for the future.
10. In modern times, this bond between India and the Arab world has been
strengthened further. India’s approach on issues affecting the Arab
world is based on principle, not expediency, and the principles on which
we have based our positions have stood the test of time – whether it is
related to the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people, the Suez
crisis or the Algerian independence movement. India has endeavoured to
follow the spirit of South-South solidarity and cooperation in our
dealings with the developing countries of the Arab world.
11. But history also teaches us that the past should never be taken for
granted. 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.
12. The bedrock of goodwill between our two regions provides the
foundation to build a strong edifice of substantial contemporary
relations. We are keen to enhance our partnership with the Arab world,
which has been playing an important role in shaping our political,
economic, defence and security policies at both the regional and global
level. Our traditional bonds have been revitalized in recent years. For
India the Arab world is an important source of our energy security and
is home to more than 5 million Indians. The Arab world’s rich resources
and the growing demands of India’s rapidly expanding economy make us
natural partners. It is not surprising to note, for instance, that that
the number of flights to the Gulf region from here far exceeds the total
number of flights from India to the rest of the world.
13. As the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce will no doubt confirm, our trade
with Arab countries is booming. We will take a closer look at the trade
figures later during the Ministerial panel discussion, but it is clear
that both in the foreign and in the trade ministries of our countries we
need to identify and focus our work on multipliers and leverages. For
instance, if we are able to conclude the India- Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at the earliest, it would give an
enormous boost to the economic engagement between our regions. But even
this is not enough. You are already a major trading partner and we hope
you will also become a major investment partner.
14. Another area of focus could be to work on mechanisms to
institutionalize the welfare of the Indian expatriate workforce in the
Arab countries, particularly in the Gulf region. While I was in Oman
over the last three days I met with a number of Indian workers, heard
about their problems and sought a meeting with the Manpower Minister to
resolve them. I was gratified by the warm and constructive spirit in
which the Minister received me and accepted my suggestions. There was a
clear appreciation that these Indian workers are an asset to their
receiving countries and that if conditions governing their work and life
are improved, it would be a “win-win” proposition for all concerned.
This will bring enormous benefits to our relations.
15. In today’s era of globalization we have to take into account the
changing world economic scenario and to equip ourselves appropriately.
Our endeavour should be to leverage our comparative advantage to build
alliances, develop partnerships, create new avenues of growth and
development and strengthen the existing ones. We need to enhance our
mutual investments, joint ventures and project participation in the
region and in India. It is a matter of satisfaction that our efforts are
being matched by the countries of the Arab world.
16. We are keen to enhance our engagement. Our multi-faceted ties are
steadily and rapidly developing. The last three years have seen a
significant increase in our interactions with the countries of the Gulf
region. Several high level visits and Joint Commission Meetings have
facilitated many institutional arrangements in the areas of trade and
investment, energy cooperation, security cooperation, cultural,
scientific and educational cooperation and bilateral arrangements.
17. The Secretary General of the League of Arab States and my good
friend, H.E. Mr. Amre Moussa, visited India in November-December 2008.
As you are aware, 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 pleased that Deputy Secretary General Ahmed
Ben Helli and 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 you all to carry this ambitious
agenda forward.
18. Excellencies, 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. 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. There is no reason why our efforts
should not dovetail into each other’s.
19. In conclusion, I would like to underline that we have in place a
framework for cooperation, which is constantly deepening and widening.
While the pace of progress 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 this conclave, with its emphasis on our contemporary
economic relations, will help chart the way forward and give more
substance to our relations in the future.
Thank you.
New Delhi
February 8, 2010 |
