Hyderabad: The war clouds looming large over Iraq and its possible impact on the world economy dominated proceedings of a plenary session at the ongoing CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Partnership Summit 2003 in Hyderabad with speakers expressing divergent views on short-term and long-term impact of the war.

While former Director of World Economic Forum Claude Smadja spoke of imminent US strikes against Iraq and a short-term impact on international oil prices, the chairman and managing director of telecom major Bharti Enterprises Sunil Mittal called for more negotiations and persuasions by the world bodies to stop the war.

Cautioning that India could not go against the interests of the Arab world as the country has huge stakes in the Middle East and Iraq, Mittal said there was not enough case for US to attack Iraq.

Instead, he said India should persuade the international community to 'rein in' Pakistan as the neighbouring country was sponsoring cross-border terrorism and was a fit case for international action.

Projecting a gloomy outlook for Indian economy in the event of war breaking out in Iraq, Mittal said it would have an adverse impact on oil prices and the country could not afford problems in this crucial sector at a time when the economy was growing.

The plenary session on 'Global Economic Outlook' saw speakers touch upon the possible scenario in the event of American strikes on Iraq and also examine why the much-speculated recovery in the US and Europe had not materialised and what kind of lessons could be learnt from countries like Malaysia and South Korea.

PTI