India’s strides in the Gulf

Source: This post is created based on the article “India’s strides in the Gulf”, published in Indian Express on 19^th August 2022.

Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – International Relations

News: In the centenary celebrations program of AMU, PM asked the AMU community to further strengthen India’s relations with the Islamic world.

Recently, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) proposed conferring the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman, with the honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree. It is for his exemplary services to global affairs, and to augment India’s efforts to forge deeper links with the Gulf region.

How PM of India has been working to improve relations with gulf countries?

The Prime Minister of India has been investing a good amount of time to improve relations with gulf countries. His efforts stand out on many counts:

First, he has put personal imprints through more than a dozen visits so far, to the region.

Second, he has expanded India’s relations with the gulf from simple trade-economic-energy relations to strategic relations in the spheres of space technology, defense, counter-terrorism, and cyber-security.

Third, India has been able to maintain its relations with Israel, along with other countries in the region. He is the first Indian PM to visit Palestine and receive its highest civilian award in recognition of his contribution to promoting relations between India and Palestine.

Fourth, with the reducing role of the US in the region, India is being seen as a credible player with a role in the promotion of regional peace and security in the region.

Fifth, India has started looking at Gulf countries as its “maritime neighbors”.

How AMU has contributed to the strengthening of India’s relations with gulf countries?

There is an extensive network of AMU alumni in every Gulf country, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. AMU’s “soft power dividend” has been successfully leveraged in bolstering people-to-people contact.

The political leadership of the Arab and Islamic world has duly recognized the goodwill of AMU. For example, in 1975, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first President and founder of the UAE, on his presidential visit to India visited AMU and gave a generous grant for establishing the department of petroleum studies in the university.

AMU can further a key goal of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 i.e. Internationalization of education. It can collaborate with the institutions of the Gulf countries in the frontier areas of innovation, start-ups, and entrepreneurship.