Indian prime minister Narendra Modi arrives to the plenary session of G20 Hangzhou Summit in Hangzhou, China.   Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi arrives to the plenary session of G20 Hangzhou Summit in Hangzhou, China. Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images

India’s shifting role in Middle East affairs



When people think of India’s role in the Middle East, they largely see Delhi as a benign power that steers clear of security issues and focuses on exporting labour and importing oil. For much of history, this was true. Over recent years, however, things have changed. India is beginning to think and act more strategically.

During most of the period since India’s independence, India-Middle East relations centred on economic ties. Political relations were largely defined by Cold War allegiances and antagonism with Pakistan. The economic focus is understandable given the Middle East has been key to India’s prosperity.

Trade with the GCC countries was $137.7bn (Dh503bn) in 2014-15, having grown from $5.5bn in 2001. By 2015, India and China were becoming the most critical trade and investment partners for the GCC. An important component of this is the labour trade with millions of Indians working in the region. In 2015-16, remittances from Indian workers in the GCC were $35.9bn.

In the last decade or so, several factors have raised the strategic stakes for India. Firstly, existing pillars of the relationship (such as energy trade) have taken on greater strategic significance. There is growing expectation among policymakers that India will eventually become a global strategic power. With oil being particularly important for military power projection, India’s already growing dependence on Middle Eastern energy assumes a more strategic dimension.

India’s net oil imports as a percentage of demand grew from 42 per cent in 1990 to an estimated 71 per cent in 2012. By 2016, over half of India’s oil and gas was imported from the Gulf. During prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the two countries agreed to transform the buyer-seller relationship into a deeper strategic partnership. The joint statement from the visit explicitly linked expanding trade ties to enhanced strategic engagement. Simultaneously, Delhi is making strategic investments in Riyadh’s rival Iran, namely in the Chabahar Port.

Secondly, India’s security aspirations are growing in what it sees as its extended neighbourhood including the Indian Ocean. A 2013 poll found that 94 per cent of Indians feel their country should have the most powerful navy in the Indian Ocean, and that 89 per cent believe that India should do more to lead cooperation in the region. Security ties with Middle East states are important to this. India’s growing international trade further increases the importance of protecting sea lanes from the Middle East. Since 2000, both Congress and BJP administrations have stated the Middle East is strategically interrelated to South Asia. India’s maritime doctrine of 2009 states that the Gulf and Arabian Sea are vital to India’s interests, including securing choke points.

Thirdly, Indian policymakers are concerned about increasing instability and the weakening of states in the Middle East which threatens Indian energy imports and diaspora. India’s past inability to influence geopolitics in the Middle East, combined with its lack of security presence, led to costly evacuations of its diaspora. This included the largest evacuation in history, when 200,000 Indians were airlifted out of Kuwait during the Gulf War.

The fourth and perhaps most important factor is increased multipolarity in the Middle East, with the long-term decline of American influence providing more room for others. Under Barack Obama, Washington tried to pivot away from the region. Even with Donald Trump’s about face on Syria, public fatigue towards interventionism will influence the political calculus. This is already seen in the post-Syria strikes revolt among Mr Trump’s supporters who had voted for the anti-interventionist tendencies that helped to define his campaign.

Concurrently, non-western powers are ratcheting up their geopolitical presence. Russia is using its role in Syria as leverage in relations with western allies such as the Gulf States. Of greater interest to India is that China is translating its massive economic relationship into strategic ties.

Beijing sees the Middle East as part of the trade routes it seeks to secure from East Asia, through to Africa and Europe. China is positioning itself as a less judgmental alternative to America. It has signed security agreements with friends of America such as Saudi Arabia, in addition to providing diplomatic protection to rivals such as Iran.

China’s entry furthers the Middle East’s strategic relevance to India. It drives Delhi to increase its own influence and avoid Beijing having leverage over its energy security and being encircled by Chinese allies.

In response to these emerging factors, there has been a massive increase in activity. Mr Modi’s Middle East focused Link West policy agenda has evolved into “think west” with a plethora of bilateral visits. In recent years, Delhi signed security and defence agreements with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Qatar. Concurrently, with regards to Syria, Delhi (like Beijing) has provided somewhat muted support to Bashar Al Assad, positioning itself somewhere between the West and Russia. As the United States contemplates its strategic options in a rapidly changing region, India’s growing role may prove one that cannot be ignored.

Kadira Pethiyagoda is a visiting fellow in Asia-Middle East relations at Brookings Doha

On Twitter: @KPethiyagoda

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Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E299hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E420Nm%20at%202%2C750rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12.4L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh157%2C395%20(XLS)%3B%20Dh199%2C395%20(Limited)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results

2pm Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,800m

Winner AF Al Baher, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).

2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m

Winner Alla Mahlak, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.

3pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,400m

Winner Davy Lamp, Adrie de Vries, Rashed Bouresly.

3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 1,400m

Winner Ode To Autumn, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

4pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,950m

Winner Arch Gold, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

4.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,800m

Winner Meqdam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

5pm Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,800m

Winner Native Appeal, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.

5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m

Winner Amani Pico, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

The specs: 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman

Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870

Engine 2.0L, flat four-cylinder

Transmission Seven-speed PDK

Power 300hp @ 6,500rpm

Torque 380hp @ 1,950rpm

Fuel economy, combined 6.9L / 100km

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Blah

Started: 2018

Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri

Based: Dubai

Industry: Technology and talent management

Initial investment: Dh20,000

Investors: Self-funded

Total customers: 40

if you go

The flights 

Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning. 

The trains

Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.

The hotels

Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.

 


 

MATCH INFO

Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')

Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)