Former Indian Ambassador to Syria, Rajendra Abhyankar, speaks to Gateway House’s Samyukta Lakshman about the developments in Syria, the impact on India-Syria relations and the future of the region.

A decade after 9/11, the U.S. has prevented further terrorist attacks - a major achievement. But with a $1.3 trillion budget deficit, a debt downgrade, and 24 million Americans searching for jobs, the U.S. needs to attend to matters at home rather than intervening in the world's affairs.

As the Arab world remains engulfed in protests, there may be lessons to be learned from other recent democratic converts. Latin America’s growth story may provide the Arab world with some recommendations on how to address socio-economic issues in the post-revolution scenario.

What are the implications of the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa on the global oil market?

As the Arab world reinvents itself in real time, the rest of the world must begin to understand the region as something more than a source for oil and a market for armaments and consumer goods.

There are more than Western interests at play in Egypt. The other catalysts for the unrest are a combination of Iranian adventures, hypocritical policies of West Asian regimes and resurgent commodity speculation in western markets, triggering a rise in prices of basic items in emerging markets

The leaders of Turkey and Brazil recently voted against sanctioning Iran, concluding that Iran's leaders do not intend to violate their most important Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligation. India, as a member of NAM, should also concede.