| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
India shares historic ties with the Arab and Islamic world that cut across the spheres of culture, economy and politics. Described variously as our "extended" and "proximate" neighborhood in the diplomatic circles, the region is important for obvious strategic reasons in the fields of energy, trade, business, politics and security. The current upheaval in West Asia naturally has serious implications for India's strategic interests in the region. The unfolding of events bear the ominous possibility of a re-enactment of the Cold War politics with a vicious sectarian twist rooted in religious fundamentalism. Syria has become the current epicenter of a geopolitical showdown in the region with USA and Russia having locked horns, and the UN content to sit on the side-lines. This article would take a close look at the factors affecting and influencing India's role in Syria within the larger context of her West Asian foreign policy. It is recommended that India leads a collective diplomacy of the South to nurture and preserve a forward looking development agenda in West Asia.
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