M.P. & PRESIDENT,
NATIONALIST CONGRESS PARTY

ON 30™ MAY7, 2003,
AT Talkatora Indoor Stadium
NEW DELHI


Page 2/4

Gulf War -II is behind us. It is history. Devastated by two Gulf wars and debilitated by a dozen years of sanction in between, Iraq, the land of the Tigris and the Euphrates, agriculture and industries stand paralysed and health and educational services choked. Twenty four million people are in the midst of the worst disaster.

The Nationalist Congress Party was among the first to denounce the US actions in Iraq. The Parliament of India, by a unanimous resolution, deplored the military action by coalition forces led by the USA against Iraq. The House called upon the United Nations to protect the sovereignty of Iraq and ensure that the reconstruction of Iraq is done under UN auspices.

At this stage, from the point of view of the people of Iraq, the immediately relevant part of the resolution of the Parliament of India is the reconstruction of Iraq. Various countries have looked at the issue of reconstruction from their own national interest. While India should be actively involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, we should be pragmatic in our approach. We know that there has been significant positive improvement in our bilateral relations with US. The US today is our largest trading and investment partner and there are nearly two million people of Indian origin in that country.


It is reported that India has already been approached by both US and UK to take part in rebuilding of Iraq. We must respond to it positively. After all, India has several advantages in participation in the rebuilding of Iraq.

•India-Iraq bilateral relations have been steady, close and broad-based for nearly six decades since the establishment of diplomatic relation between the two countries. Since 1988, there were a number of important visits between the two countries at the official as well as business levels. Of particular importance were visits to Iraq by delegations from India in the areas of railways, oil and natural gas, drugs, agriculture, etc.

•Under the UN sanctions regime, India was extending humanitarian assistance to Iraq at regular intervals - supplying medicines, baby food, wheat, tea, etc. At the educational and cultural levels, India was giving scholarship to Iraqis.

•While India was importing during the 1980s oil valued at around US $ 3 million, it was exporting project and consultancy services. Our companies executed civil, mechanical and electrical contracts valued at over $ 5 billion in the 80s throughout that country The cost effectiveness and experience of our companies in project execution have been well recognized.

•One of our acknowledged assets is the availability of professional, trained and English-speaking skilled personnel, especially engineers, doctors, nurses, computer professionals, other technical personnel and semi-skilled workers.

•Most importantly, Indians have been acceptable among the Arabs, including Iraq due to their reputation for keeping away from local issues.

In the reconstruction of Iraq, India has a great opportunity to contribute in the extrication of the people of Iraq from this disaster. On a later date, in retrospect, Iraq reconstruction should not be a matter of missed opportunity for India.


Coming closer to home realities, now let us look at our neighbourhood. Despite our sincere efforts, good relations do not exist. We have to take note of the real situation in the entire south Asian region. This is of crucial concern to us. Indo Pak relations are on top priority today, and our foreign policy towards our neighbour is of prime concern. Our relations with our neighbour, born out of the partition of the country have seen many ups and downs. Three wars and an unending conflict between us have affected our relations. The cross border terrorism aided and abetted by Pakistan needs to be dealt with a firm hand. All the more so when the infrastructure, in the form of training camps created across the border for fostering terrorism, has already killed thousands of people of the valley and our defense personnel.