Friday, August 10, 2007

India expands role in Middle East

The Indian Navy is set to lend its hand to diplomacy in expanding the country's reach in the Middle East, by starting on a series of naval exercises with a number of Persian Gulf states from this week.

...With an economy that is projected to grow at a rate of 7-8 percent over the next two decades, meeting its rapidly increasing demand for energy is one the biggest challenges facing the country today.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, the focal point of India's energy diplomacy has been Middle East as around 65 percent of its energy requirements are met by this region. It is in this context that India's relationship with Iran has come under global scrutiny in recent years. India's large and growing energy demand and Iran's pool of energy resources make the two nations natural economic partners.

From Enerpub