By SOMAN BABY
A RALLY call to nations to combat extremism went out yesterday from a top Indian security official.
Sources of instability, actual or potential, must be dealt with, said India's National Security Adviser M K Narayanan.
"We must recognise the dangers inherent in both extremism and fundamentalism, as also the use of religious identities, as much as secular ones, for mobilisation purposes," he said.
"What is particularly disconcerting is, however, that as problems have increased and intensified, the reach of diplomacy and the ability to influence events through diplomatic means seems to be declining.
"This trend must be reversed."
Mr Narayanan was speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue security conference, at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa.
The importance of the Gulf in India's strategic vision has grown far beyond all expectations, he told delegates.
The region faces daunting challenges, said Mr Narayanan, as he delivered a paper entitled The Gulf and the East.
"Trends such as globalisation and migration are one," he noted.
"The competition for resources and livelihood, which is getting still more intense is another.
"National and ethnic aspects, often advanced at the cost of the other, is a third.
"Democratisation of society has further added to the churning in the region."
The Gulf is India's extended neighbourhood, separated only by the Arabian Sea, said Mr Narayanan.
"It is an area of special priority for India. Over the next decade, this focus will only intensify further," he added.
"We share common concerns with Gulf nations, as we do with other stakeholders.
"Intensified co-operation amongst us can enhance our capabilities to meet many of the challenges."
India has always been a stabilising force in the region and remains committed to the security and prosperity of the Gulf, said Mr Narayanan.
India's relations with the Gulf were multi-faceted and historical, he said.
"Ties of trade have connected us over the ages," said Mr Narayanan.
"We are both located at the heart of what has been described as an Empire of the Monsoons.
"The colonial era did not snap our historical connectivity; in many ways, it brought us closer."
More than four million Indian citizens live in Gulf states and contribute to their economies, said Mr Narayanan.
"Their annual remittances to India are in the range of $6 billion to $8bn," he revealed.
"Our trade, excluding oil, is currently in the range of $16bn annually.
"India imports 70 per cent of its energy requirements from the Gulf. India not only has a natural interest in the Gulf, but also has vital stakes in its stability and continued prosperity."
The Gulf clearly has a direct relevance to all aspects of India's growth, said Mr Narayanan.
As one of its closest neighbours, with a modernising economy, the synergy that the Gulf has with India is obvious, he added.
"Human flows across the region have, of late, created a great deal of economic inter-dependence," Mr Narayanan continued.
"These today provide the lifeblood for the global industrial economy of which India is an increasingly integral part."
India's policy has, hence, been to engage with most countries in the region through offers of economic incentives and strengthened structures for functional co-operation, said Mr Narayanan.
"Relationships have been developed at the very highest levels."
There is a growing recognition that a cohesive strategy for sustainable energy security is now an essential component of regional and global security, as more and more countries view energy security as directly affecting their defence and security needs, said Mr Narayanan.
"In this regard, the situation in the Gulf is seen as a barometer of global perceptions affecting energy security," he added.
"For a developing country such as India with high rate of economic growth, we believe that there is enough scope for co-operative action to bring about an optimal balance between security of supply and demand requirements."
During the past 60 years India has faced grave challenges that might have fragmented nations of lesser intrinsic strength or lesser will, said Mr Narayanan.
