In West Asia, India's diplomacy has delivered dramatic gains, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• India signed a landmark economic partnership agreement with Oman on December 18, offering zero-duty access on over 98% of tariff lines for Indian exports.
• India's trade with the GCC touched $184 billion in 2023-24, and FDI from Gulf countries crossed $20 billion.
• PM Modi has visited nine Middle Eastern states since 2014, demonstrating the centrality of personal diplomacy.
• Countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE now view India as a long-term strategic partner, shifting away from viewing India through the prism of Pakistan.

Detailed Insights:

• The "Think West" policy has become a defining feature of India’s foreign relations, expanding engagement beyond the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to include countries in North Africa and Africa.
• India has positioned itself as a net security provider in the region, deploying naval assets to protect sea lanes and conducting joint military exercises with partners like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
• Modi's government has addressed concerns over China's expanding naval and port footprint in the region with strategic realism.
• The safety, dignity, and welfare of the Indian diaspora have become integral to India’s regional diplomacy, reinforcing the mutual dependence between India and the Arab world.
• The UAE declared that it viewed the Kashmir matter as India’s internal affair, reflecting a shift in regional calculations after India's 2019 Kashmir decision.

Key Concepts Involved:

• GCC: A regional political and economic alliance consisting of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain.
• FDI: An investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
• Net Security Provider: A nation that contributes to the security of a region or the world through various means, such as military presence, humanitarian aid, and diplomatic efforts.