|
Iraq To Forge Strategic Partnership With India
by Pratap Chakravarty
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Iraq said Wednesday it would establish a wide-ranging strategic partnership with India, as the two sides reached an agreement in principle on a fresh food-for-oil deal.
"We are establishing long-term strategic relations and they are full-scale and not just related to oil," Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadhan told reporters on the last day of his official talks in New Delhi.
A spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry said the two sides had agreed in principle to a new food-for-oil deal, but gave no details.
Before finalizing the arrangement, India will consult the U.N. sanctions committee "regarding implementation under the sanctions regime currently in force," the spokesman added.
Under a 1996 agreement, India has been importing oil worth $250 million per year from Iraq under the oil for food program.
The vice president, who arrived here Monday, met Wednesday evening with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and signed several agreements.
Under an accord on trade and industry, Baghdad invited Indian companies to set up units in Iraq's free trade zones, while Indian investments were sought in the telecom, transport and power sectors.
Indian companies will also help rebuild Iraq's battered oil and gas industry, through the supply of equipment and expertise.
Ramadhan said the price tag of Iraqi oil depended on many factors.
"We sell oil like a normal commodity and the price is determined according to the market and the nature and depth of our relations, but we are under a blockade," he said, adding Baghdad would not sell to sanction-backing states.
"Those countries who support the embargo or are hesitant to take a stand on it, will find it difficult to get our oil," he said.
Ramadhan, the first Iraqi leader to visit India in 25 years, did not rule out the possibility of defense cooperation between the two countries.
"We must open cooperation in all fields without exception and give priority to areas which will re-integrate our interests," Ramadhan said in reply to questions on possible military tie-ups.
The vice president said an Indo-Iraqi agreement signed Tuesday for oil exploration in Iraq signaled the depth of the bilateral relationship.
"This [pact] is a reflection of the kind of prospects we have for the future. We will not reach such an agreement with a country unless it has a clear stand on the sanctions."
The Iraqi leader bristled when asked whether Baghdad would offer a guarantee of non-aggression against Kuwait as a bargain for the lifting of the blockade, which is backed mainly by Britain and the United States.
"Kuwait is now housing British and U.S. military, and from Kuwait everyday warplanes are flying to launch military attacks on Iraq. So what kind of guarantees does Kuwait wants from us when it has America as its guarantee?
"Kuwait will have to shoulder the responsibility as any country has the right to defend itself in a manner and time it sees fit," Ramadhan warned.
Ramadhan was accompanied by a top-level delegation including Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rashid and Deputy Foreign Minister Nur Al Weiss.
He was due to fly to the southern Indian city of Bangalore, the country's software hub, on Thursday before leaving for home the next day.
The two countries enjoy close ties. India opposed the multi-nation attack on Iraq during the Gulf War a decade ago although it was not supportive of Baghdad's military action in the oil-rich sheikhdom of Kuwait.
|
