Persian Gulf 2018

India's Relations with the Region

P. R. Kumaraswamy, Md. Muddassir Quamar, Manjari Singh, Muddassir Quamar Md.

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9789811319778
• eBook ISBN:
  9789811319785
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Business
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The Persian Gulf 2018 is sixth in the series published by MEI@ND and examines India's bilateral relations with the countries along the Persian Gulf, namely, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen. It focuses on developments during 2017 and offers a comprehensive account of the strategic, political, economic and cultural aspects of bilateral developments along with specific policy recommendations for India.The book also provides an in-depth analysis of internal dynamics of these countries.

© The Author(s) 2019

P. R. Kumaraswamy, Md. Muddassir Quamar and Manjari SinghPersian Gulf 2018Persian GulfIndia’s Relations with the Regionhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1978-5_1

Begin Abstract

1. Introduction

P. R. Kumaraswamy¹ , Muddassir Quamar² and Manjari Singh³

(1)

School of International Studies, CWAS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

(2)

Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi, India

(3)

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

P. R. Kumaraswamy (Corresponding author)

Muddassir Quamar

Manjari Singh

End Abstract

The Persian Gulf is not just another geopolitical bloc or a cluster of countries but the key to India’s growth story. India’s sustained economic development and the resultant social progress and political ascendance are intrinsically linked to its strategic relations with the region. This recognition is reflected by the increased engagements with these countries since Narendra Modi became prime minister and this journey serves well for the larger foreign policy interests. The region’s strategic importance far outweighs other parts of the world, including the immediate neighbourhood. In sheer economic terms, during 2016–2017 India’s trade with the Persian Gulf countries stood at US$123 billion or 18 per cent of its total foreign trade and the region supplies nearly 55 per cent of India’s total energy imports. In addition, the Gulf Arab countries host over 8.5 million expatriates who send home about US$30 billion in remittance and this was half the amount that India received during the year.

Numerous Indian business houses are thriving in the region and a number of mega projects are in the pipeline. Furthermore, abandoning its prolonged hesitation, India is gingerly moving in the direction of a close security partnership with the Gulf Arab countries, thereby seeking to develop defence ties. Above all, the importance of the region for India’s larger interests in the wider Middle East became prominent on 22 March 2018 when the Tel Aviv-bound Air India flight from New Delhi was allowed to fly over the Saudi air space , a maiden privilege since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948!

Given this, the Persian Gulf requires constant political attention, diplomatic interactions, economic engagements, and strategic appreciation. As the cradle of hydrocarbon resources, the Persian Gulf is also a turbulent region susceptible to family feuds, political rivalries, power struggles, ideological contests, social tensions, and above all, external interferences. Even by its usual standards, 2017 was a turbulent period for the Persian Gulf and some of the issues which cropped up during the year continue to reverberate with growing uncertainty and anxiety around the globe. The intra-regional discord within the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iran–Saudi regional struggle for power, and the conflicting agendas of the external powers are the most prominent challenges that the region faced during the year. These, in turn, demand a relentless vigil on the part of India both to enhance its interests and to minimize negative fallouts. The question is: how did India face and handle these challenges?

Strategic Scenario

The simmering discord and power struggle in the Persian Gulf intensified with the eruption of serious divisions within the GCC in June. Three of its members, namely, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain (also joined by Egypt) announced a political, diplomatic, economic, and cultural boycott of Qatar. They also imposed a blockade of their airspace for flights to and from Qatar and asked their citizens to leave Q...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Bahrain
• 3. Iran
• 4. Iraq
• 5. Kuwait
• 6. Oman
• 7. Qatar
• 8. Saudi Arabia
• 9. UAE
• 10. Yemen
• 11. GCC
• 12. Policy Options
• Back Matter