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Abu Dhabi: India's growing developmental needs can make way for a new phase of relations between the GCC and the South Asian nation, said the Indian foreign minister at a speech in Abu Dhabi.
India and the GCC should move beyond the "buyer-seller" relationship and into all sectors including energy, education and health, said Pranab Mukherjee, in a speech at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research.
"India needs US$500 billion in resources to meet specific targets for infrastructure development and also needs to expand its electricity production. Here are the foundations of India's new terms of engagement with the Gulf region," he said, adding that the Gulf's "Look East" policy of diversifying the GCC's economic partners would be beneficial for the GCC as well as India.
Mukherjee also asserted his government's position on Iran as a major economic partner "particularly in the area of energy security", adding that engagement and dialogue with the Islamic republic was necessary "without the accompanying cacophony of recrimination and threats of violence".
He welcomed the "revival of the democratic process" in Pakistan but voiced concern about the "strength of extremist elements" in the country.
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