Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s visit to Tehran assumes significance as it comes after the lifting of sanctions against Iran. This visit must pave the way for a new chapter in the India-Iran bilateral
On the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will visit Iran from April 6 to April 7, to engage with top leadership of the oil and gas-rich nation. This visit is significant because it was only recently that P5+1 powers lifted sanctions against Iran. India must now grab the opportunity under the new situation as far as oil and gas-related issues are concerned.
India’s attempt to expedite engagement with the energy-rich country comes in the background of expectations around Iran opening up its substantive hydrocarbon reserves to Indian companies, which may also include production-sharing contracts.
Currently, India imports crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. India’s crude oil import from Africa and South America rose by 10 per cent each, as Indian refiners bought heavier but cheap grade oil.
The Petroleum Minister’s visit will send good signals to the people of Iran. India wants to convey to Iran that it greatly values their economic and strategic relationship. It is expected that in Tehran, Pradhan will meet Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh and will discuss the possibility of building a gas pipeline from Iran to India.
Certainly, India will woo Iran, after the United States and other powers removed a wide range of sanctions against Iran, once the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Tehran had met its commitments to rollback its nuclear programme, under an agreement with China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the US and Germany.
Ever since the sanctions against Iran were lifted, India and Iran have held extensive discussions on key bilateral and regional issues including security, energy, and connectivity. New Delhi is looking to re-energise its ties with Iran. During the 13th round of India-Iran Foreign Office Consultations in February, chaired by India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Iranian Deputy Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour, the two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties.
After India and the US signed a civil nuclear deal in 2008, several Iran-related Indian projects were either put on hold or dropped. India also focused on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline instead of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
When talking about pipeline projects, one should keep in mind the recent visit of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to Pakistan. In Pakistan, Rouhani discussed the pipeline project. It is not clear if India figured in their talks on the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline issue. India has not taken part in the talks on the 1,036-km Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline since 2007, citing security and
commercial concerns.
Rouhani arrived in Pakistan on a landmark visit, his first since he became the President of Iran, at a time when Saudi Arabia is courting Islamabad to increase participation in a new Saudi-led military alliance of mostly Sunni nations, a coalition perceived by Tehran as an anti-Shiite block. It is hardly coincidental that just a few days after Rouhani’s visit to Pakistan, Prime Minister Modi was in Riyadh.
Returning to India-Iran ties, it is believed that with Iran coming to the market, there will be a further slide in oil prices. India will be one of the beneficiaries of sliding oil prices.
There are also some differences between India and Iran. India is going to face some unpleasant realities about its most fundamental policy departure: A negative vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency against Iran’s nuclear record. How can New Delhi be sure that Tehran will overlook India’s vote at the IAEAIJ
It may be recalled that India had cut down oil purchases from Iran — from 21.2 million tonnes of crude in 2009-2010 to 11 million tonnes in 2013-2014. Further, Indian firms have so far shied away from investing in Iran.
But after the nuclear deal was signed, India is making a renewed pitch for rights to develop 12.8 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves that ONGC Videsh ltd had found in 2008. India is also likely to push for the implementation of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. The pipeline from the Iranian coast via the Oman Sea and Indian Ocean to Gujarat is expected to carry 31.5 million standard cubic metres of gas per day.
It is high time that India woos Iran. Hopefully, the visit of Pradhan to Tehran will be path-breaking in terms of India-Iran ties. It will also pave the way for the visit of Modi to Tehran and for Rouhani to visit New Delhi in the near future.
(The writer is a member of Rajya Sabha)