Five things India must immediately do to gain lost ground in Iran
Then HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi said during a 2003 visit to Teheran, Iran was like India’s younger brother. We have given Iran step-brotherly treatment in the past few years. This has become more acute in the past 20 months of talks between Iran and the P5+1 nations where India merely sat on the sidelines. Sanctions on Iran were lifted on July 14. It is time for India to move in and recover lost ground. The oil and the gas will flow but we first need to strengthen the civilisational people to people ties between the two countries. Iranians need our love, friendship and dignity. Here are five things that India needs to do to boost the relationship:
1) Make Iranian nationals eligible for Visa on Arrival: India made a huge blunder when it announced in March 2015 that Iran was on a select list of countries ineligible for visa on arrival. The result was instant. Iran immediately removed India from the list of visas on arrival.
2) Speed up visa procedures at the Indian embassy in Teheran: Presently Iranian nationals are told visas will take between 30 days and three months because they have to follow a verification procedure. I don’t know of any businessman who will wait for so long. These wait times must be reduced.
3) Restore Air India flights: Mahan Air and Iran Air are the only two Iranian carriers flying into India. India’s national carrier must resume flights into Iran. This is a huge symbolic step of restoring normalcy between the two countries.
4) Save the Rupee trade mechanism: The Rupee trade mechanism was set up between India and Iran in 2012 where Iran accepts rupee payments for oil exports to India through a single designated UCO bank. This unique mechanism is in danger of dying because Iran may not see the need for this when sanctions are lifted. If this mechanism is not revived, then India will have to pay back $8 billion of Iranian funds parked at the UCO bank in foreign exchange.
5) Encourage Iranian businessmen to invest in India: Both countries need to set up joint ventures in offshore oil exploration and also in the garments sector. Iranian businessmen are presently discouraged from investing in India. This has to stop. The RBI needs to allow Iranian entities to set up shop in India.