ABSTRACT

India–Iran relations started off on the understanding that long-standing historical and cultural relations needed augmentation with renewed ties in the modern world. While India was willing to share its development achievements in the industrial sector with Iran, Tehran was generous with its loans for the manufacturing of industrial products it could import from New Delhi. India, in fact, showed appreciation for one of the Shah's pet projects–forging an Indian Ocean economic and security community–primarily because of its developing-world orientation and underpinning. With the end of the Cold War, this trend intensified, as India looked for partners from all across the globe to whet its newly reformed market under its liberalisation policies. India's votes against Iran's nuclear programme in the International Atomic Energy Agency, while subject to domestic criticism, did not prove to be an enduring setback. In effect, India can serve as an effective interlocutor on a range of regional issues.