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Thursday, Jun 25, 2009
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Tharoor for close ties with Gulf

Atul Aneja

Shashi Tharoor

DUBAI: On his first overseas assignment, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor impressed upon senior leaders of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that India, abounding with youthful energy, visualised a high-octane relationship with the Gulf that went beyond the traditional boundaries of trade and commerce.

“The fact that we have no problems in our relationship with the UAE is a good thing. But that should not make us complacent. This only means that we have a solid platform to make things better,” said Mr. Tharoor, speaking to a mixed audience comprising Indian expatriates and UAE nationals on Tuesday night.

Also present on the dais with Mr. Tharoor was Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research in the UAE, who had taken an aerial route to beat the dizzy traffic between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

During the day Mr. Tharoor, who transited through Dubai enroute to Yemen, met Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade in the UAE and Mohammed Al Gargawi, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs. “We discussed issues of trade, infrastructure development in India and found common ground in our discussion on the geo-political situation in the neighbourhood,” Mr. Tharoor said at a press conference earlier.

Declines to comment

The visiting Minister declined to comment when asked whether the post-election situation in Iran was also discussed.

Mr. Tharoor said a security dimension was also acquiring prominence in India’s relationship with the Gulf.

He added that India and the UAE were partners in the Indian Ocean Rim - Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC). And that they faced common threats such as piracy in the waters of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. Mr. Tharoor is participating in an IOR- ARC meeting in Yemen.

“We are looking for a relationship with the UAE that went beyond trade. We would like the UAE to add to its already substantial investments in India,” Mr. Tharoor said.

He said there was an urgency in India to show results as the below-30 population was impatient to catch up.

Mr. Tharoor reminded his audience that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his second term in office, had set a 100-day timeline for his ministers to show results.

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