The sixth is an enduring commitment to stability in Afghanistan. Preventing a destabilisation of Kabul by the Taliban has already emerged as one of the highest priorities for India’s national security strategy. As Pak-Afghan ties sink to lower depths, India faces a new tension between improving ties with Pakistan and strengthening the Karzai regime. The answer must necessarily lie in New Delhi taking the initiative for a triangular political and economic cooperation and encouraging Islamabad and Kabul to limit their conflict.

Seventh, accelerate economic integration. New Delhi’s policy inertia has allowed Beijing to steal a march over it on economic integration with Pakistan, the Gulf and Africa. Fast-forwarding free trade negotiations with the six-nation Gulf Coordination Council, overcoming obstacles to economic cooperation with Pakistan, and raising India’s commercial profile in Africa must be at the top of the agenda for a ‘Look West’ policy.

The eighth element is defence diplomacy. As conflicts deepen in our western neighbourhood, many nations would look towards increased security cooperation with New Delhi. India, in turn, needs an active engagement with the armed forces of the region, which should include arms transfers. India also needs new guidelines on when it would deploy its armies in the region. India has a long tradition of sending troops to the Middle East and Africa on peacekeeping missions. It will now need to relate military missions with national interest in a more fundamental manner.

Finally, cope with territorial changes in the Gulf. Since the American occupation of Iraq, India has consistently stood for the unity and integrity of Iraq. So has much of the world and the Bush administration, at least until now. That does not necessarily mean Iraq will hang together for ever amidst the expanding sectarian divide. If it does not, the region could be drawn into a wider conflict that could tear up the territorial map of the Middle East drawn up by Britain and France after the First World War. While hoping for the best, India’s ‘Look West’ policy must be prepared to deal with the worst in the region.