Challenges such as unemployment, famine, inadequate access to sanitation, education, and healthcare, as well as pervasive violence across caste, religious, and gender lines serve as poignant reminders that the impacts of the British colonial era are still alive and kicking in the Indian society.

This is why individuals within India and around the globe were astonished when Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi emerged as one of the only world leaders to join Western officials and condemn the October 7 Hamas operation against Israel, an entity that undeniably evokes parallels to the British Raj.

“Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” Modi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, a few hours after Operation Al-Aqsa Storm took place.

India has long been recognized by many Muslims as a fervent advocate for the Palestinian cause, evident in its rich diplomatic history replete with pro-Palestine actions. From its vote against the partition of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 to its distinction as the first non-Arab state to support the Palestinians’ liberation struggles during the 1960s and 1970s, the nation has consistently voiced solidarity with those enduring experiences akin to India’s own during the 19th and 20th centuries.

While it is undeniable that India’s solidarity with Palestinians has waned during the nine-year tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Modi’s “complete solidarity” with Israel on October 7, and his decision to abstain from voting for a UN resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza on October 27, were still seen as unorthodox.

“After the Cold War India has generally tried to turn to the West’s orbit. That’s why after New Delhi refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Modi thought that it would only be right that he stood alongside Western politicians regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict,” Dr. Nozar Shafiei, professor of international relations at the University of Tehran, told the Tehran Times.

Several theories attempt to explain why Modi’s government adopted a notably stronger pro-Israel stance than customary during the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Critics posit that the governing BJP party, accused of leveraging the backing of the Hindu majority, perceives parallels between itself and the Israeli regime. Both entities find themselves surrounded by Muslims viewed as posing a threat, and both espouse a form of nationalism rooted in religion. Additionally, it is argued that the BJP aims to capitalize on religious polarization to secure votes, making an anti-Muslim stance far more strategically advantageous.

And with certain Arab states beginning to embrace normalization with Israel, Modi may have believed that by October 7, the Palestinian cause had lost significance within the Arab world. Consequently, he may have concluded that adopting a pro-Israel position would help please the West while not negatively impacting India’s relations with Arab countries.

It seems, however, that the Indian leader soon came to realize that he was kind of wrong in his calculations.

“India’s response to the war in Gaza came in two stages. The first one was released a few hours after the October 7 operation by Hamas which was seen by the majority in India as hasty. People even accused him of reflecting the views of Hindu extremists.  India has a culture of peace and while it is true that some are extremely Islamophobic, the majority of people in the Indian society feel sympathetic towards the Palestinians. With growing opposition inside India and public opinion turning against Israel, the Indian government began to rectify its controversial position,” Shafiei added.

As lifeless bodies accumulated in Gaza and global demonstrations in support of the Palestinians intensified, the Indian government began to call upon Israel for restraint, dialogue, and diplomatic measures, while vehemently condemning the regime’s relentless targeting of civilians. Once more, the two-state solution took center stage in Indian statements as the country endeavored to maintain a balanced stance, steering clear of further entrenchment within Israel’s sphere of influence.

India recalibrated its diplomatic posture as its officials recognized the broader regional and global significance of the Palestinian cause, an awareness shared by numerous nations in the region. The events following October 7 underscored that not only do the Palestinians remain resolute against the Israeli occupation, but that normalization agreements have failed to diminish wide-ranging support for the resistance. India which aspires to emerge as a potential superpower in the future, cannot possibly overlook the Palestinian issue if it aims to play a pivotal role in West Asia.

“Although it was unlikely that ties between India and Muslim-majority nations begin to fray due to New Delhi’s initial support for Israel, India’s largely positive standing in West Asia may have been compromised by a continued pro-Israel posture. Such a trajectory could have posed severe challenges for India in its contest with China, which has garnered acclaim for its fair and wiser stance during the recent Israel-Gaza conflict,” Shafiei explained.

Though India continues to tread cautiously to evade drawing the ire of its Western allies, the notably pro-Israeli stance that sparked controversy at the onset of the conflict has conspicuously receded. While no one anticipates India to find a definitive solution to the Palestinian issue, it is also expected that the country refrain from expressing sympathy towards colonizers empowered with the aid of Britain.

By Mona Hojat Ansari

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Speaking in the conference on introducing opportunities and capacities of presence in the Indian market, Zeyghami said that India is one of the main priorities of Iran for broadening trade, adding that the approach of TPO has been the increase of exporting goods and technical and engineering services so that India has an important stand for Iran.

He first pointed to the cultural and historical commonalities and trade between the two countries, adding that the current government in Iran has positive approach for boosting relations with India and for this reason India is one of the priorities of the current government.

He went on to say that Iran’s trade with India has been favorable but sanctions have decreased this trade but last year bilateral trade was $5b. He noted that the total trade exchange of India with Iran in the first quarter of 2023 has been $510m, and the oil products, fruits and raw material for paint production have been the three major exporting of Iran to India. He added that rice, fruit and tea have been the major imports of Iran from India.

Zeyghami then stated that despite high potentials of both countries for broadening economic and trade relations, it is required Iranian traders to get acquainted with opportunities and capacities of this market and holding conferences can help a great deal for introducing this market.

He added that the trade balance in this period has been $188m in favor of India, noting that Iran in recent months has been complaining about the high negative trade balance with India and has called for making the bilateral trade balanced and 29% decrease in India’s exports to Iran in the first four months of 2023 has been because of this.

Zeyghami also urged Iranian traders to facilitate exports of dried fruits from Iran to India.

He reiterated that India has zero custom tariffs for come countries and it has led to the rise in smuggling of Iranian goods to India from other neighboring countries and expressed hope both sides can boost direct trade.

He said that Iran is determined to finalize preferential trade agreement with India and expressed hope it would be signed very soon.

Zeyghami then pointed to the banking and financial hurdles between the two countries, stating that some ways have been planned to broaden trade ties and PTO has on its agenda increasing the presence in the exhibitions in its target countries and it supports dispatch of trade delegation. He reiterated that without active presence of Iranian and Indian businessmen, broadening of ties is unimaginable.

Then Ambassador of India to Tehran Rudra Gaurav Shresth, for his part, said that India is working hard to reduce the banking problems despite sanctions, adding that by the way India is keen to increase its trade level with Iran in the non-sanctioned areas.

He then pointed to the importance of interactions between the private sectors of both countries, adding that accordingly economic activists of both countries are exchanged in the form of trade delegations to see broadening of ties.

He added that political problems of Afghanistan and India created challenges for export of dried fruits to India and it seems Iran can enter and have some share of dried fruits in India.

Shresth added that custom tariff of India for some countries is low, adding that this will be also solved for Iran and in terms of logistics, there are good capacity in Chabahar Port in different fields that it can restore trade ties with Indian ports.

Then Hadi Talebian Moghaddam, Head of TPO Indian Subcontinent Office, for his part, last year Iran’s exports to India was some $2.146b which showed 18% growth comparing to the preceding year.

He added that last year bilateral trade of Iran and India was $5b and because of high potentials it is necessary potentials of Indian market to be introduced to Iranians and holding such a conference will help it.

He said that India’s imports from Iran in the first quarter of 2023 grew 6% comparing to the same period in the preceding year which was $257 while India had imported $242b of goods in the first quarter of in the same period in the preceding year.

Talebian Moghaddam stated that despite exporting grounds for agro products some important and infrastructural trade issues can be in the trade between the two countries like preferential trade agreement, joint investment and developing infrastructures and Chabahar Port facilities for developing regional and international transit and transport.

Meanwhile Iran’s Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi, for his part, said that once the trade volume between the two countries was $18b which declined because of sanctions but fortunately it is bouncing back through some actions taken by both sides.

He said India is one of the top five trade partners of Iran and reiterated that Indian market is good for exporting Iranian goods in Asia and the world and close distance between the two countries has caused both sides to have more cooperation.

He reiterated Iran is in talks with India for issuing e-visa for Iranians and both sides are talking for holding their joint economic commission.

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During his stay in India, Safari held numerous meetings with high-ranking Indian economic officials.

He discussed obstacles and challenges faced by the two sides in their economic cooperation and explored ways of expanding ties and areas of cooperation between Tehran and New Delhi and their private companies.

Hot on the heels of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian’s visit to India and his official and people-to-people meetings in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, a high-ranking economic delegation on Monday flew to India for the purpose of pursuing Amir Abdollahian’s negotiations and pushing for Iran-India relations with an emphasis on economic and trade ties.

During the two-day trip, Safari held negotiations with some ministers, deputy ministers, and heads of key economic institutions in India as well as companies active in trade, economic, technological, transportation, industrial, and energy fields.

The other members of the Iranian delegation were the director of the Plant Protection Organization, the deputy chief of the Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), the economic deputy director of the secretariat of the Supreme Council of Free Trade Zones, the head of the Chabahar Free Zone Organization, Pasargad Bank’s director for Investment and Foreign Assets and the CEO of Ranak Banking Technology Company.

At the beginning of the trip, the public meetings of the two deputy foreign ministers and their entourage were meant to raise issues and problems and also to look into ways of resolving them and expanding trade and economic cooperation.
Meanwhile, at the end of the visit, summing up the results and drawing a roadmap for relations were the most important goals of the delegation.

Indian diplomat emphasize transit cooperation

In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Indian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Damo Ravi referred to the recent visit of Iran’s foreign minister to India that has paved the way for strengthening ties, calling the meetings of Safari and his entourage as “very good”.

Ravi stressed the transit cooperation between Iran and India and the huge potential of this field, saying, “We are able to continue cooperation and consultations, resolve the existing problems and boost trade between the two countries considerably.”

For his part, Safari thanked the Indian side for their hospitality.

He then went on to point to the constructive and positive talks between the two sides over transportation as well as port development, financial, agricultural and other types of cooperation.

Safari invited his Indian counterpart to visit Iran and expressed hope that before the probable visit of the Indian side, the two countries will witness the fulfillment of their potential for cooperation, the realization of the negotiations between them and also the current exchange of delegations.

Deputy FM underlines the need for Indians to fulfill Chabahar commitment

During his meeting with the Indian shipping minister and deputy minister in which talks were held over port cooperation and development process of Chabahar Port, Safari also underlined the need for the Indian side to fulfill its commitment to commission installations put in place in Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.

The other topics discussed were the efforts by the two sides to increase shipments transfer through Chabahar, investment by Indian companies in the Chabahar free zone and finalizing the long-term and temporary deals at the port.

Tehran ready to meet New Delhi’s energy needs

In a meeting with India’s deputy minister of oil and natural gas, Safari praised India’s independent policy in political and economic spheres in line with its national interests.

He announced that Iran is ready to meet India’s energy needs and reviewed ways of resuming cooperation to this end. Safari also invited the Indian official to visit Iran for the continuation of talks.

In addition, other members of the Iranian economic and business team held separate talks with their Indian counterparts.

Among others, in the agricultural sector, the deputy agriculture ministers of Iran and India held several meetings in which they looked into some problems concerning quarantine and plant health. They also reviewed obstacles in the way of expanding agricultural trade.

Alaei Moghaddam, director of the Iranian Plant Protection Organization, also visited the regional plant quarantine center in New Delhi.

During the trip, the officials of the agriculture ministries of Iran and India reached an agreement on the formation of a joint working group tasked with pursuing and implementing deals in the fields of agriculture, trade and transit of crops through Iran, exchange of experiences, technical know-how and educational cooperation in the fields of agriculture and plant health and also cooperation between the quarantine centers of Iran and India.

As for port and navigation cooperation, the representatives of the PMO and free zones of Iran held a separate meeting with officials of the Indian shipping ministry and the Indian brokering company operating in Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.

In the meeting, the two sides discussed operational steps to activate the installations put in place in the port, as well as supplying other necessary equipment to encourage the private sectors of India and Iran to participate in the future plans for cooperation and investment in the Chabahar and Makran free zones.

Iran, India discuss financial exchanges

In the financial sector, the Iranian banking officials also met with officials of the Indian ministry of finance. They exchanged views over resolution of some impediments to cooperation between the two sides and also the use of new banking technologies for the purpose of increasing financial exchanges and reached some important agreements.

In the wrap-up meeting of the economic delegations of the two sides, they expressed pleasure at their success in making important achievements, including in the fields of banking, energy, agriculture and transportation as well as the free zones and Chabahar.

The two sides also underlined the necessity of swiftly and steadily pursuing issues and planning periodic meetings between the relevant authorities of Iran and India in order to further advance economic, trade and investment ties and also to use regional transit routes, especially the potential of the North-South transportation corridor, which have been emphasized by the heads of the two governments.

It is expected that the recent exchanges of views between the economic delegations will be followed by visits to Iran by, among others, India’s minister of ports and shipping and other Indian economic officials in the coming weeks.

This will pave the way for the holding of the 20th joint economic commission of the two countries in the second half of the current year and also for visits by economic and commercial delegations of the public and private sectors of Iran and India.

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According to reports, in the meeting Seyed Aghazadeh expressed hope on continuation of such meetings in line with broadening trade relations and increasing the trade volume and called for expansion of bilateral relations.

He also called for all support of the TPO for broadening trade between the two countries.

Then Mr. Wahi, for his part, pointed to the historic relations between Tehran and New Delhi and called for improvement of trade relation considering their close and historic ties.

Meanwhile head of Indian delegation Mr. Vijay Mehta, for his part, expressed interest for broadening economic relations between Iran and New Delhi and said his visit to Tehran was aimed at meeting officials of Iran’s TPO, expansion of trade relation in the fields of medicine, IT, industry, textile and auto.

He added that PHDCCI is one of the biggest chambers of commerce of India and said it has a very close cooperation with Iran’s Chamber of commerce and called for enhancing trade relations between the two countries in all fields like agro, medical, industry, mine and joint venture.

In the meeting it was decided some agreements to be signed between the related bodies of Iran and India for facilitating the presence of Iranian and Indian companies in the exhibitions being held in both states.

The post Official Calls for Broadening Trade Ties Between Tehran, New Delhi appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According to the reports, the TCCIMA will host the webinar with participation of economic activists of Iran and India. The webinar has been organized in cooperation between TCCIMA and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of India and during it, senior officials of the two bodies as well as commercial attaches of Iran and India, and representative of UCO Bank of India are to take part.

The webinar will be focused this time on the trade of agro products and foodstuff between Iran and India.

The post Tehran to Host Webinar on Promoting Trade With New Delhi appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Collective security with the participation of regional countries, including Iran and India as two important players in the region besides extensive economic interactions are among the important priorities in relations between the two countries,” Raisi said in a meeting Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Tehran.

He added that “stable and lasting” relations between Tehran and New Delhi, especially in the economic field, depended on regulating the bilateral ties in a manner that they would solely serve the two countries’ national interests.

Raisi said the U.S. “maximum pressure” policy against Iran had failed, as acknowledged by the Americans themselves, and the Islamic Republic would continue down its path to progress vigorously.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president-elect expressed Tehran’s support for stability, security and peace in Afghanistan.

Iran has on several occasions reaffirmed its support for measures and talks aimed at establishing peace and ending the conflict in war-battered Afghanistan.

The Indian foreign minister, for his part, said it was vital for Tehran and New Delhi, as two close regional partners, to work together to tackle different challenges.

Jaishankar pointed to the very critical situation in Afghanistan and urged all the country’s neighbors to boost cooperation in an effort to help resolve the crisis in the war-torn country.

He handed over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to Raisi and said the premier had expressed confidence that strong mutual relations would continue to grow under the next Iranian administration.

The Indian foreign minister also said Modi had officially invited the Iranian president-elect to pay a visit to New Delhi.

“Appreciate [Raisi’s] warm sentiments for India. Deeply value his strong commitment to strengthen our bilateral ties and expand cooperation on regional and global issues,” Jaishankar tweeted after his meeting.

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran, which hosted a round of talks among Afghan groups. The two top diplomats underlined the need for the promotion of intra-Afghan talks which could culminate in inclusive political participation of all parties in Afghanistan.

The post Tehran, New Delhi Urged to Prioritize Close Ties appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) Hamid Zadboum made the remarks in his meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Tehran Gaddam Dharmendra.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the decrease in trade between Iran and India, Zadboum said, “It is necessary for the negotiations of the preferential trade agreement for the exchange of commodity lists subject to the said agreement and the necessary measures to return petrochemical, industrial and steel goods to the basket of Iranian exports to India to enter the implementation phase immediately.”

“In this regard, it was agreed with the close cooperation of the Indian Embassy in Tehran, the negotiated issues to be implemented as soon as possible,” he added.

Referring to the date of the video conference of the head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran and his Indian counterpart, the Indian ambassador, for his part, stressed that this issue should be followed up and finalized through the embassy as soon as possible and within the next three weeks.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides stressed the two countries’ determination to develop and improve economic and trade relations.

Last week an official from Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization says the organization is abiding by the Coronavirus National Task Force guidelines, adding that trade relations with India are continuing while observing the measures.

Hossein Abbasnejad, from Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said that since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the Iranian ports have not stopped operating, adding that Iranian maritime activities and the activities of the ports have continued while observing necessary measures announced by the Coronavirus National Task Force.

The Iranian authority stressed that after the recent spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing problems in India, the Ports and Maritime Organization is acting according to the decisions made by the Coronavirus National Task Force.

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Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met Indian Ambassador Gaddam Dharmendra and exchanged views on parliamentary cooperation and bilateral ties.

Pointing to the historic ties between Iran and India, Amir-Abdollahian emphasized the stance of India in Asia and also necessity for improving ties between the two states in different fields especially in the parliamentary relation. He also stated that Iran and India as two biggest civilizations in Asia enjoy a sustainable historic and old relation.

He underscored the significance of cooperation between Asian states as the 21st Century belongs to this continent, and reiterated that Iran’s relations with Beijing and Moscow are on the right track and emphasized significance of creating vigor in the old ties between Tehran and New Delhi.

Ami-Abdollahian noted that Iranians have good knowledge of Indians’ independence-seeking struggles, adding that efforts’ of the third party for influencing Iran-India ties are in vain.

Meanwhile Indian Ambassador for his part explained his country’s ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran and said the ties between the two countries enjoy strong bases and although it has not enjoyed growth for some while, relations between them have always remained normal and there is a positive prospect ahead of their ties.

Dharmendra also pointed to the independent role of both states in the international scenes and called for developing co-operations like in the field of parliament.

He noted that Iran and India have always had constructive and positive cooperation in the international communities like in the United Nations, the NAM and in the IPU, and they have enjoyed this capacity in resolving some international challenges like climate change, environment and the rule of laws in the international scene.

Then Amir-Abdollahian on behalf of Majlis Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf invited the  parliament speaker of India for an official visit to Tehran and announced all commissions and friendship groups of Iran’s Majlis for cooperation with their Indian counterparts.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Vice president of India-Iran Chamber of Commerce Parham Rezaei says Iran and India’s trade exchange has declined due to the U.S. sanctions and outbreak of Coronavirus, adding that sanctions accounted for 50 percent of this decline.

Speaking to ILNA, Rezaei said that the decline in trade of Iran and India has had two major reasons as sanctions’ share of the decline is 50 percent and some 30 percent is because of the pandemic.

He then pointed to the latest statistics and condition of trade exchanges between Iran and India, saying that although Iran’s Customs Administration has not released any precise statistics on the volume of imports and exports of both countries, the outbreak of the virus has affected the trade exchange between both states in recent months and imports and exports have been declined significantly.

He added that the reason for this decline is partly for pandemic and partly for sanctions but sanctions’ share is 50 percent and pandemic’s is some 30 percent.

Rezaei added that Iran has talked with India to sort out its banking problem, adding that considering Iran is facing with forex problem, it also faces some challenges which had been created by the Central Bank because of changes in its policies.

He reiterated that in case Iran wants to increase the trade exchanges, the Central Bank should revise its approach towards exports and improve it, noting that in return, it should lift ban on imports of goods in order that exporters and importers themselves sort it out rather than the bank seats and waits repatriation of the forex into the country by the exporters.

The post Tehran-New Delhi Trade Declines Due to Sanctions , Pandemic appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Mr. Dharmendra said that several meetings have been held between high-ranking officials of both states and it indicates the gradual progress in relations between Tehran and New Delhi and Hindustan has explained the reasons behind delay in implementing the projects during the meetings.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

He also called for continuation of talks between both states in order to reach unity, adding that since parliamentarian election has ended in India, his country invites Mr. Larijani for a visit to New Delhi.

Meanwhile in the meeting, Mr. Larijani pointed to the negative impacts of the U.S. behavior in the international scene, adding that Iran expects big countries not to remain indifferent towards the U.S. sanctions because if the U.S. gets used to bullying, next it will be India’s turn to be bullied.

He also pointed to the deep-rooted relations between Iran and India, noting that India is a big country and there is an especial capacity for expansion of bilateral ties between both states and it should be used.

Larijani went on to say that some countries do not like friendly ties between both countries to be expanded, stating that Iran and India should not give chance to those countries to succeed and both should move in direction to bolster ties.

He noted that Iran and India can cooperate in energy and new technology fields and they should complement each other in creating peace and stability in the region.

Larijani reiterated that Iran would pass these sanctions, and hard times would end, and there is a bright future ahead of the country for cooperation especially with the East.

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