ISLAMABAD: Trade between New Delhi and Tehran is unlikely to be affected by a recent bomb attack on Israeli targets in the Indian capital, Indian commerce minister said on Wednesday, despite Israel's accusations and Western sanctions against Iran.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma was in Islamabad heading the first ministerial-level trade delegation to India's neighbour and rival Pakistan in decades and added that the investigation is ongoing.
“I don't think that trade and these things are inter-related,” he told Reuters. “The investigations are on, and those behind this serious attack will be brought to justice.”
Israel accused arch-enemies Iran and its Lebanese militant ally Hezbollah of being behind twin bomb attacks that targeted Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia on Monday. Tehran has denied involvement in the attacks, and India has been pointedly silent on Israel's accusation.
But the head of a trade association in India said he feared the bombing would undermine the country's determination to pursue trade with Iran as wary exporters back away from fresh deals.
“The attack and its political fallout have clearly vitiated the atmosphere. Traders who were already losing money due to payment defaults will be extremely wary of continuing their trade with buyers in Iran,” Vijay Setia, the president of the All India Rice Exporters' Association, told Reuters.
India has not gone along with new financial sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union to punish Iran over its disputed nuclear programme. Instead, New Delhi has come up with elaborate trade and barter arrangements to pay for oil supplies.
New Delhi has good relations with both Iran and Israel, and so the attack makes its diplomatic balancing act between the two countries all the more difficult, and has thrust the mounting tension between the Middle East rivals onto its doorstep.
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@manish: Dude Ahmed is an Indian and he was referring to a Pakistani... Please don't misinterpret every Muslim name here to be a Pakistani....
@ahmed:
"Even after loosing 4 wars people do not get their head on straight.. Don’t you see condition of your country after 26/11 :)"
what actually did you mean when you said this?
still denying the reality? why are you alllowing the nato to drone you down, after your own 26/11... why you tossed your self-respect?
@Pollack: haha.. Even after loosing 4 wars people do not get their head on straight.. Don't you see condition of your country after 26/11 :)..
Iran picked India to stage an attack against Israel for a very good reason. It knows very well that India won't respond even if these "investigations" find that it was done by Iranian agents which I am sure these investigations conveniently won't find. That opinion about India'reattached is based on the lack of response by India for the past attacks on Mumbai, parliament buildings ,etc and the list is long. So it basically picked a country which is weak with a society which has vaporous memory regarding events in it's history and a govt which thinks its people are expendable.
The Indians are known to be shrewd, when it comes to national and personal interests. They know they have to appeal to and maintain good relations with everybody. The attack in Delhi wouldn't have an impact on the Indian-Iranian relationship as India wasn't the culprit.
The trade should not be affected till final report of investigations....
"New Delhi has good relations with both Iran and Israel, and so the attack makes its diplomatic balancing act between the two countries all the more difficult" - I hope every Pakistani reads that... One is an Islamic republic and another a Jewish.....