Madaresharghi <\/a>_ The Syrian government is hesitant about inviting India to participate in the war-torn country\u2019s reconstruction because of public disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s visit to Israel, a top aide to President Bashar al-Assad has said, Hindustantimes reported.<\/p>\nThe views expressed by Bouthaina Shaaban, one of the closest aides of Assad, could be perceived as a snub by Indian policy-makers, especially since New Delhi has tacitly backed the Syrian regime since the country\u2019s conflict began in 2011.<\/p>\n
Sipping a glass of wine at a hotel in the \u201cgreen zone\u201d of Damascus, Shaaban speaks of the bitter taste left by the Indian premier\u2019s visit to Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllow me to say that the Syrian people are very disappointed with the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel, because Israel is an occupying and a colonial force which has deprived Palestinians of their indigenous rights. We never expected India will move from its righteous and moral stand and pay that huge courtesy to Israel,\u201d Shabaan, a frequent visitor to India, told Hindustan Times.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can say that while we call for a role for China and a role for Russia, we are very hesitant to call for a role for India (in rebuilding Syria),\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Perhaps indicative of Syria\u2019s anger, Shaaban volunteered the response when she was asked about the sort the Assad regime envisages for India in post-war efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of the economic and military relations, because we know there are relations between India and Israel, the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel was really shocking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t India\u2019s working relationship with Israel but the prime ministerial visit and the optics it entailed that had baffled Syria, she added.<\/p>\n
In 2016, India abstained from a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire following the siege of Aleppo imposed by the Syrian government and backed with Russian military might. Despite the war, high-level visits between India and Syria continued, including one by minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar in 2016.<\/p>\n
The World Bank estimates that the cost of rebuilding Syria\u2019s bombed-out cities will be $200 billion. Hindustan Times has learnt India has the capacity to take on projects worth $20 billion, a tenth of the total estimate.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s involvement in projects in Syria ranges from a $25 million line of credit for modernising the Hama Iron and Steel Plant (Apollo International won the contract and completed the project) to a contract signed by BHEL in 2009 to part finance the Tishreen power plant through another line of credit of $100 million (the work was suspended due to the ongoing crisis and has not resumed).<\/p>\n
New Delhi has also pledged $4 million in humanitarian aid to the Syrian regime, while ONGC Videsh Limited won the bid to look for oil and natural gas in Block 24 in Syria\u2019s Deir Ezzor province.<\/p>\n
A team from OVL visited Syria two to three weeks ago and, according to sources, was assured by the Syrian regime of preferential treatment. But Deir Ezzor continues to be an active battleground and fierce fighting between the Syrian regime and the Islamic State and other groups is taking place in the country\u2019s eastern front on the border with Iraq.<\/p>\n
After a gap of six years, Damascus is ready to host its international trade fair. The capital and even the destroyed cities of Homs and Aleppo are flaunting huge signboards for the fair to be held on August 17 that promises to rebuild Syria.<\/p>\n
Assad is relying heavily on the financial muscle of BRICS nations, but is mostly dependent on the Chinese. China has announced it will invest $2 billion in an industrial park that is expected to bring 150 Chinese companies to Syria.<\/p>\n
While the number of Chinese firms attending the fair isn\u2019t known as yet, seven Indian companies are expected to visit Damascus on August 17, with a few more sending representatives. Indian firms are believed to be concerned about security even though the areas controlled by the regime are now relatively safer.<\/p>\n
In the reconstruction rush, Indian diplomats are hoping Indian companies will not be left behind and lose the first-mover advantage. In an attempt to assuage Syrian concerns, sources in the Indian government said that India\u2019s Israel policy is not at the expense of Syria.<\/p>\n
The page on \u201cforeign relations with Syria\u201d on the website of the external affairs ministry still reads \u201cIndia\u2019s traditional support for just Arab causes , notably the Palestinian cause and for the return of the occupied Golan Heights to Syria, is appreciated by Syrians\u201d.<\/p>\n
Shabaan blamed the West for supporting anti-regime groups and said this is because of the Syrian government\u2019s opposition to Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestine. She thinks the Israeli-Arab conflict is the main reason behind the war in Syria.<\/p>\n
As she left for another meeting, she said that while Syria was saddened by Modi\u2019s visit to Israel, it is willing to look at a \u201cpragmatic relationship\u201d with India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The World Bank estimates that the cost of rebuilding Syria\u2019s cities will be $200 billion, and HT\u2009has learnt India that has the capacity to take on projects worth $20 billion. Madaresharghi _ The Syrian government is hesitant about inviting India to participate in the war-torn country\u2019s reconstruction because of public disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[344,623,624,621,290,625,22,622],"yoast_head":"\n
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