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Context:
India’s ‘Look West’ Policy is evolving rapidly
India-UAE Relationship:
- Trade and economic ties are becoming central to the India-UAE relationship.
- A landmark pact awarding a consortium of Indian oil companies a 10% stake in offshore oil concession will be the first Indian investment in the UAE’s upstream oil sector, transforming a traditional buyer-seller relationship into a long-term investor relationship with stakes in each other’s strategic sectors.
- A MoU aimed at institutionalising the collaborative administration of contractual employment of Indian workers has also been signed.
- There has also been growing convergence between the two countries on tackling terrorism.
India and Oman:
- China’s expanding footprint in the Indian Ocean Region has alerted India to the possibility of strengthening security ties with littoral states.
- India is likely to step up its military presence in Oman.
- Naval cooperation has already been gaining momentum with Muscat giving berthing rights to Indian naval vessels to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
- India and Oman have not only made military cooperation more expansive during P.M. Modi’s visit but also made an attempt to take the relationship to other domains: by enhancing cooperation in the field of health, tourism and peaceful uses of outer space.
Way Forward:
- India’s engagement with West Asia should now focus on delivering on its commitments and strengthening its presence as an economic and security partner.
- This will be crucial as traditional powers such as the U.S. and Russia are jostling militarily, even as America’s stakes in the region decline by the day.
- India has been still stuck in the age-old debates of Israel-Arab rivalry, West Asia has moved on.
- Growing rivalry between the Sunni Arabs and Shia Iran has been reshaping old relationships and India will have to be more pragmatic in its approach towards the region
