New Delhi: Never has the entire world been so desperate for an antidote as it is now. With India being the world’s biggest vaccine maker with the capacity to mass-produce the ‘magic vials’, countries from across the world are turning to India according the country a golden opportunity to seal and heal ties.
Among the comity of nations is Iran which has sought India-produced vaccines after being badly battered by the raging pandemic.
Iran, a key and pivotal force in the West Asian theatre, is thereby ‘opening a window of opportunity’ to restore India-Iran relations to its traditionally warm times.
Besides India, Iran has also sought vaccine aid from China and Russia while banning any import from UK and the US.
Of late, the traditionally warm and close ties between India and Shia-majority Iran had nosedived, which would have had severe implications for Indian influence in Afghanistan as well as Indian efforts to set a footprint and consolidate its presence in central Asia not to speak of securing energy security.
India would also be keen to salvage the Chabahar port deal which will be vital in building a transit corridor through Iran’s strategic Chabahar port that will enable trade access to Afghanistan, Central Asia and even to Russia.
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A good relation with Iran is also important for ushering in peace in Kashmir which has a significant Shia population among which it enjoys substantial influence.
In the past, Iran had been a major backer of India in its geostrategic policies and especially in checking Sunni-majority countries like Pakistan.
The worsening relations between the two countries were taking place even as Iran and China were getting closer.
A prime reason for the plummeting bilateral relations was the US sanctions on Iran because of which India had stopped buying Iranian oil. But with the end of the Trump regime, President Joe Biden may take a relook on the Iran sanctions.
Iran’s appeal comes at a time when India is on a diplomatic ‘vaccine offensive’.
With COVID 19 vaccines, India’s seven-year-old ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy has got the biggest fillip with its immediate neighbours, other than Pakistan and China, becoming the first beneficiaries of India’s largesse.
As of Wednesday, vaccines have already been sent out to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles, while regulatory clearances are awaited for Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius.
ETV Bharat had earlier written on May 4, 2020 itself that a vaccine for COVID 19 will impact the world order and accordingly the power positioning among the nations of the world. That is being witnessed now with vaccine producing nations trying to create spheres of influence among the comity of nations of the world.
