Iraq has agreed to help India reduce its dependence on Iran and Saudi Arabia for crude oil.
The changing geopolitical scenario in West Asia (especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel) has prompted New Delhi to urge Baghdad to supply more oil to the South Asian country. During his recent meeting with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Eshaiker Al-Jafari, Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Iraq recently emerged as the new ‘Oil King’ for India by defeating Saudi Arabia as its largest supplier of crude and New Delhi wanted Baghdad to increase the export volume. “Iraq is the second-largest source of crude oil for India. For last six months, it has surpassed Saudi Arabia as the largest source,” stressed Pradhan.

Al-Jafari with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj

Meanwhile, Al-Jafari assured the Indian minister that his country would supply more oil to India in the coming years. He also invited Indian companies to explore the Iraqi oil and gas sector, saying that it would be difficult for the war-ravaged country to boost national economy without foreign help.
By holding investment talks with Al-Jafari, Pradhan made it clear that Iran’s decision to ‘waste’ time in awarding the Farzad-B gas field to an Indian consortium upset New Delhi. Unhappy with Iran’s truant attitude, New Delhi has reduced crude oil import from Tehran by 33%. Experts believe shipments from Saudi Arabia, too, will come down 7-8%, if Indian refiners receive Iraqi crude.
Before concluding his July 24-26 visit to India, Al-Jafari thanked the Indian government for offering military assistance, including training and supply of defence equipment, to Iraq. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, the visiting minister said: “There is always need (for military aid). Fighting terrorism is a continuous process.”
Soon after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on July 9 that the government forces liberated Mosul from the Islamic State, concerned officials decorated the Iraqi Embassy in New Delhi to mark the victory. Iraqi officials hanged a banner from the first floor balcony of the Embassy building and also decorated the main gate with colourful ribbons. The banner stated (in Arabic and English): “With efforts of Iraqis, the city of Mosul has been liberated from the hands of Daesh terrorist organisation.”

Iraqi embassy in New Delhi

A senior Embassy official told the press that the main agenda of Al-Jafari’s recent visit to India was to discuss humanitarian assistance and reconstruction activities in Iraq with the top political leadership in New Delhi.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das