India’s vice minister for external affairs, Sripriya Ranganathan, visited Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon from Aug. 16-21, and had substantial meetings with senior officials.
These high-level engagements signaled India’s continuing interest in developments in the Middle East, its search for opportunities to expand political and economic ties there and, above all, its sustained commitment to the aspirations and well-being of the Palestinian people.
In Cairo, Ranganathan described Egypt as “the mother of the world” and therefore the logical starting point for her regional tour. She noted that the Middle East had provided congenial homes for several million Indians who had contributed to regional infrastructure development, industry, management, accountancy and retail services. She affirmed that India sought a swift end to conflicts so that regional states could return to a focus on development based on cooperation.
In Palestine, Ranganathan focused on development and welfare, including specific initiatives related to health, skills and capacity-building, and community engagement. The highlight of her visit was the laying of the foundation stone for a 200-bed specialist hospital at Arraba in the West Bank, south of Jenin, that will have facilities for advanced medical care and emergency services.
Several senior Palestinian officials attended the event, including the prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa, who recalled India’s historical support for Palestinian interests and its contributions to infrastructure development and welfare services.
This is a welcome corrective to the widespread impression that India had been prioritizing great-power engagements at the expense of neighborhood ties.
Talmiz Ahmad
One minister said that providing the hospital was “like lighting a candle in the darkness of prevailing circumstances” and offered the Palestinian people “a glimmer of hope to achieve the better life that they deserve,” a life of freedom and dignity in an independent Palestinian state.
Ranganathan reiterated India’s principled and longstanding support for a negotiated two-state solution through which the Palestinian people could realize their aspirations.
She completed her tour of the region with a visit to Lebanon, where she met the prime minister, Nawaf Salam, and the speaker of the parliament, Nabih Berri. Ranganathan was given a first-hand view of the carnage inflicted upon the country by the ongoing Israeli invasion, in particular the systematic destruction of southern Lebanon and large parts of Beirut.
The timing of the tour, the level of interactions, and the views exchanged on diverse subjects suggested that India had initiated a fresh diplomatic approach to Middle Eastern states to obtain their assessments of the regional security situation, the likely prognosis for the crises in the region, and the role that regional states expect India to play.
This is a welcome corrective to the widespread impression that India had been prioritizing great-power engagements at the expense of neighborhood ties, including links with the Middle East.
These misgivings now appear to have been put to rest. India has clearly conveyed, in both Palestine and Lebanon, its concerns relating to violent external attacks that have wreaked so much harm on innocent people, and its readiness to take concrete action to ameliorate the suffering in the region.
In Palestine, Ranganathan focused on development and welfare, including specific initiatives related to health, skills and capacity-building, and community engagement.
Talmiz Ahmad
But these are only the first steps in shaping a new approach for the region. Given its historical ties with the Middle East and the leading roles successive Indian leaders have played at crucial moments in the region’s politics, there are widespread expectations that India will prioritize the promotion of regional stability through the pursuit of economic engagements, dialogue within diverse forums, and initiatives in partnership with nations that serve mutual interests, including those of third-party countries.
New areas of cooperation could include maritime-security interests and partnerships for the pursuit of new regional-connectivity projects.
The recent conflicts in the region have affirmed the central role of the Palestinian issue in efforts to achieve regional security. Given its connections with the principal states involved, India could be a major facilitator in attempts to address both security and welfare challenges.
Obviously, the plight of the Palestinians will demand priority attention being paid to basic issues such as food, shelter, clothing, health and education, followed in due course by the provision of access to technology and innovation. Beyond this, a Palestinian commentator, Dalal Saeb Erakat, has recommended institutionalizing an Indian-Palestinian strategic dialogue to discuss agriculture, water supply, health and education, as well as defense and security issues.
Such dialogue with regional partners could form the basis for a genuine move towards realization of a two-state solution, such that the concept moves beyond a pat mantra toward a genuine policy initiative.
This will certainly be a long-drawn-out process and will require patience and resilience. India has both in ample measure.
BY: Writer Talmiz Ahmad is an Indian former diplomat.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect The Times Union‘ point of view
