Relevance : GS Paper II
Theme of the article
Delhi should support the region’s reform agenda, deepen economic and security cooperation.
Why has this issue cropped up?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain underlines Delhi’s continuing commitment to the transformation of India’s relations with the Gulf region.
India’s new vision towards Gulf
- If no prime minister of India had travelled to the UAE for more than three decades, before 2015, PM Modi is about to head to the Emirates for the third time since then.
- That PM Modi is being honoured with the Zayed Medal, the highest civilian honour in the Emirates, underlines the new good will, trust and personal intimacy between PM Modi and the UAE leadership.
- If India tended to see the Gulf region through the prism of Pakistan in the past, it has now learnt that the conservative Gulf Kingdoms are quite eager to develop an independent relationship with Delhi.
Gulf’s new approach to India
Three areas highlight the region’s new approach to India.
- First, some Gulf countries have expanded counter-terror cooperation with Delhi, extending support to India in the unfolding conflict over Jammu and Kashmir, and have sought to open the OIC platform for India despite Pakistan’s objections.
- Second, recognising Modi’s special interest in the welfare of the Indian diaspora and expatriate labour, the Gulf kingdoms have begun to address many of the long-standing Indian concerns.
- Third, the oil rich Gulf has begun to see India, one of the world’s leading energy importers, as a major economic partner. The recent Saudi decision to pick up 20 per cent stake in the oil business of Reliance Industries Limited and UAE’s support for the construction of India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve are two examples of deepening energy interdependence.
Way forward for India
- If the focus of Modi’s first term was on what India can get from the region, the emphasis in the second must be on what Delhi can do for the Gulf.
- One important new trend has been the effort to promote moderate Islam in the region. While the West has reacted with scepticism or is demanding faster pace in these reforms, Delhi should offer strong public support for the reform agenda in the region. Supporting positive reform will lend greater weight to India’s concerns about the continuing negative trends in the region, such as the support for extremist ideologies.
- Second, Delhi must reciprocate more productively to the enthusiasm in the Gulf region for strategic economic cooperation with India — ranging from energy and digital innovation to arms production and space technology. It should try and unclog multiple bureaucratic and policy obstacles to investments from the Gulf.
- Third, security cooperation, where the unrealised potential remains huge. The highly vulnerable Gulf regimes have long depended upon Britain and the US to protect themselves from threats — internal, regional and international. US’ talk on downsizing America’s role in the Gulf is encouraging the region to diversify its security partnerships. It is time Delhi showed some initiative to develop a more pro-active strategy for defence cooperation in the region. Inaction now will necessarily lead to reaction as other Asian powers like China carve out a larger security role in the Gulf. Russia and France have already stepped up their involvement in the Gulf region’s security affairs.
Conclusion
The question for India is no longer about taking sides; it is about contributing to the regional security in whatever manner it can.
