Vice-President Hamid Ansari has called upon academics and policy works engaged in foreign policy research to look beyond the strategic, diplomatic, political and military aspects, and conduct an in-depth study of societies to better understand the geo-politics of the world. He was speaking at the release of a study report on West Asia — West Asia in Transition — which was jointly produced by two of India’s leading thinktanks, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and The Delhi Policy Group. It analyses current political and social trends as well as aims to offer a blueprint for Indian policy in the region.
Ansari noted that while India had several experts specialising in South Asia, few policy papers of any significant merit were being produced in the country. Ansari, himself a career diplomat with a special interest in West Asia, also bemoaned the fact that today policymakers themselves often only had a superficial understanding of these issues.
Former Ambassador Arundhati Ghose, who has been associated with the project, said that the report made three major recommendations. First, India needs a strong and comprehensive look West policy (not to be confused with the Modi Government’s link West policy that refers to India’s ties with Europe and North America). Second, India should include West Asia and North Africa in its bilateral discussions with the US, EU and other major stakeholders in the region. Third, India should take up the matter of counter-terrorism more seriously with regional powers.
Former Ambassador Chinmaya Gharekhan, who had served as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy to West Asia, underlined the fact that the title of the study may have been limiting because it excludes North African nations like Egypt and Tunisia which are major regional players. Traditionally, India has used the term West Asia, instead of the Western term Middle East to refer to the Maghreb and the Mashreq. He was also critical of the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has travelled extensively in his first year in office, has not gone to West Asia yet.
India has always had strong links to the region. That West Asia today is major source of energy and remittance and also a major trading partner is well known. However, it is often forgotten that India has deep civilisational linkages with that region. Echoing the thoughts of the Vice President in this regard, the Ambassador of Iran Gholamreza Ansari told The Pioneer that he would be especially keen to see a greater focus on the centuries-old people-to-people ties that exist between Iran and India.