NEW DELHI: Even as West Asia is sharply divided along the sectarian lines in the Saudi-Iran conflict, External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will hardsell India’s pluralistic tradition to her Arab counterparts, when she travels there this weekend.
Sushma Swaraj will visit Bahraini capital Manama to take part in the first ministerial meeting of India and 22-member League of Arab states on January 23-24. It was initially scheduled for December 20, but was postponed on request of Arab states as their foreign ministers were in New York to witness the passing of a UNSC resolution on a peace plan for war-torn Syria.
As per sources, about 13-14 Arab foreign ministers have confirmed their presence at the meeting in Manama, which is considered a “good turnout”.
Speaking at a seminar on West Asia on Wednesday, Ministry of External Affairs’ Secretary (East) Anil Wadhwa said that clearly India would be highlighting the need to bring an end of sectarianism in the region, which could easily go out of control. He was referring to flaring up of regional friction as result of Saudi Arabia cutting off ties with Iran, after its embassy was burned down in Tehran by a mob protesting the hanging of a Saudi Shia dissident.
“The message that we will convey in Manama is that we have the Indian idiom which is an experience to go by and we should look at that as well and try and understand, as it is important that sectarianism is first of all something that needs to be avoided,” Wadhwa said.
Indian government has always prided itself on its unique model of harmony as dissensions between the Sunnis and Shias have not played out violently as it happens in the neighborhood.
He termed the “recent set of event in Saudi Arabia and Iran” as a “new high in our view in regional tension”.
“It does not augur well to the region in the whole and requires careful monitoring and assessment to preserve our vital stakes and interests while avoiding the risk of entanglement,” said the senior Indian diplomat.
These are the first public words of concern expressed by an Indian official since the flare-up, which is widely viewed as being along sectarian lines.
So far, India’s only public comment had been to criticize the burning of the Saudi embassy as a violation of Iran’s international obligations.
Wadhwa noted that Swaraj will be travelling to Bahrain, right after her trip to Israel and Palestine – showing a heightened focus on the region this year.
“Incidentally, a message that both Israel and Palestine conveyed to us that no war should be turned into a religious war – as there is no reasoning that can stop it,” he said.
Justifying India’s “old order neutrality”, Wadhwa asserted that it was equivalent to “political passivity”, as India was even more engage in the region due to the presence of diaspora and Indian energy security.
To a question on whether India should be more proactive, Wadhwa said that India was not interested in exporting democracy. At the same time, he made a nuanced argument that India had no problem in highlighting “democratic values”, which was different from “democracy”.
A joint statement is expected to be released at the end of the ministerial meeting, which is currently under negotiation.
Sources said that India has had to do some tough diplomatic balancing to ensure that the final statement is not too overtly critical of Israel.