According to Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, apart from the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan and the Maghreb have emerged as important areas for India's energy security.

'Indian companies have secured concessions or otherwise invested in the oil sector significantly in Sudan, Egypt and Libya,' he said at the manual launch event.

Besides energy security, the Arab world has also gained importance for India from the food security point of view.

'Less publicised perhaps is the enormous importance for India's food security countries such as Jordan, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia as providers of rock phosphate, phosphoric acid and potash, all of which translate into fertiliser for our farmers,' Tharoor said.

This apart, several Indian companies have either set up or are in the process of executing a number of projects in the Gulf region, including a thermal power plant in Sudan, a cement plant in Djibouti, an architecturally complex bridge in Jordan and a variety of projects in Libya.

And what do the Arab countries stand to gain from this engagement with India?

'In many areas, countries of the Arab world have the capital while India offers the opportunities, especially in the development of infrastructure,' Tharoor said.

Beyond that, the Arab countries can look forward to India for sharing its vast experience and expertise in institutional capacity building, governance, science and technology, IT, biotechnology, healthcare and higher education.

Why this is important is because the Arab countries are shifting their traditional economic dependence from oil and gas to the knowledge sector.

According to Ahmed S. Al-Wahishi, chief representative of the League of Arab States Mission in New Delhi, India is a growing world power with which the Arab world has common strategic interests.

'Our growing partnership with India is not only based on historic ties and values but also now based on an increasing convergence of strategic interests in Asia and beyond,' he wrote in his message in the manual.

(Aroonim Bhuyan can be contacted at aroonim.b@ians.in)