Abu Dhabi: Energy security and development of infrastructure are the foundations of India's new terms of engagement with the Gulf region, according to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Stating that India needed to maintain high economic growth rates every year for the coming 15-20 years, Mukherjee said: "Two of the most important prerequisites in this regard for us are energy security and development of infrastructure."

He was speaking on 'India's Foreign Policy and India-Gulf Relations: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century' at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) here Monday evening.

"India needs $500 billion in resources to meet specific targets in infrastructure development set out in our 11th Five-Year Plan. We also need to expand electric power production six to seven times between now and 2032," he said.

"It is here that I see the foundations of India's new terms of engagement with the Gulf region."

According to Mukherjee, as a result of high oil prices and prudent fiscal policies, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have generated extraordinary investible resources.