04-23-2004, 11:14 AM
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040423/asp/...to~Delhi~wall~+]~-->
Iraq runs into Delhi wall
PRANAY SHARMA
New Delhi, April 22: A visit by Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zabari has been called off due to lack of response from India.
The proposed visit could have allowed Delhi to get back on the radar screen of the new Iraqi administration which continues to believe that Indiaâs sympathies lie with Saddam Hussein.
India is one of the few nations that has traditionally had good relations with Iraq. But its links were snapped with the ouster of Saddam and the end of his Baathist regime.
The US and its coalition partners who are helping it stabilise Iraq have naturally become the new players in Baghdad.
But countries like Russia, France, Germany and China, which have not joined the US coalition, have been making a serious effort to establish relations with the new order in Iraq.
As a result, an Iraqi delegation visited Pakistan and China last month to a warm welcome. But India seems to be watching developments there without a clear-cut policy on how to deal with the new Iraq regime.
Attempts are being made to discuss new dates for Zabariâs visit â after a new government is in place here â but many feel Delhi may have lost an important opportunity.
Last year R.M. Abhayankar, secretary in the foreign ministry, visited Iraq and held discussions with several senior officials of the interim governing council, including Zabari. The secretary had invited the foreign minister to visit India.
Accordingly, the countries agreed on April 24 to 26 as tentative dates for the visit, but subsequently India did not firm up the dates. It even suggested it would be better if Zabari visited after the elections.
Sections in the foreign ministry said even if Zabari did not get to meet top leaders during the elections, he would surely have got to interact with foreign secretary Shashank and other South Block officials.
They argued that India, which is losing its importance in Iraq, could have used the visit to ensure that the new Baghdad dispensation continues to count on Delhi during its reconstruction phase.
Iraq runs into Delhi wall
PRANAY SHARMA
New Delhi, April 22: A visit by Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zabari has been called off due to lack of response from India.
The proposed visit could have allowed Delhi to get back on the radar screen of the new Iraqi administration which continues to believe that Indiaâs sympathies lie with Saddam Hussein.
India is one of the few nations that has traditionally had good relations with Iraq. But its links were snapped with the ouster of Saddam and the end of his Baathist regime.
The US and its coalition partners who are helping it stabilise Iraq have naturally become the new players in Baghdad.
But countries like Russia, France, Germany and China, which have not joined the US coalition, have been making a serious effort to establish relations with the new order in Iraq.
As a result, an Iraqi delegation visited Pakistan and China last month to a warm welcome. But India seems to be watching developments there without a clear-cut policy on how to deal with the new Iraq regime.
Attempts are being made to discuss new dates for Zabariâs visit â after a new government is in place here â but many feel Delhi may have lost an important opportunity.
Last year R.M. Abhayankar, secretary in the foreign ministry, visited Iraq and held discussions with several senior officials of the interim governing council, including Zabari. The secretary had invited the foreign minister to visit India.
Accordingly, the countries agreed on April 24 to 26 as tentative dates for the visit, but subsequently India did not firm up the dates. It even suggested it would be better if Zabari visited after the elections.
Sections in the foreign ministry said even if Zabari did not get to meet top leaders during the elections, he would surely have got to interact with foreign secretary Shashank and other South Block officials.
They argued that India, which is losing its importance in Iraq, could have used the visit to ensure that the new Baghdad dispensation continues to count on Delhi during its reconstruction phase.