West Asia outreach

Gen Naravane’s visit to Saudi and UAE could lead to greater military exchanges and better security ties

The changing geopolitical realities in West Asia have thrown up a new set of opportunities for India to expand its defence and security cooperation, especially counterterrorism, with the nations in the region. Army chief General MM Naravane’s ongoing six-day visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first-ever by a head of the Army to the two strategically important Gulf countries, reflects the significance of India’s outreach. The security ties between West Asian states and India had earlier largely focused on intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism and Gen Naravane’s visit at this juncture could lead to greater military exchanges, including joint exercises and defence cooperation, with a region that occupies a significant space in India’s national security interests. The two countries are home to a majority of the nine million Indian expatriates in the region. New Delhi’s diplomatic push comes close on the heels of dramatic developments in the region following the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan normalising relations with Israel. India has already welcomed the normalisation of ties, saying such moves are in line with its efforts to back peace and development in West Asia, which is part of the country’s “extended neighbourhood”. India will benefit from its proximity to both the Arab states and Israel. While successfully balancing relations between Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia power blocks, New Delhi’s affinity for this Gulf outreach is rooted in the emerging geopolitical realities. The upswing in ties between India and the Gulf countries also comes against the backdrop of friction between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan with the latter trying to form an alternative Islamic front with Malaysia and Turkey.

The Army chief’s visit could be seen as part of India’s efforts to broad-base security ties with the Arab nations to include more military exchanges and exercises. Today, India is in a position to offer both access to defence technology, technical expertise and space to set up new tech ecosystems as countries such as Saudi plan their exit from being an oil-reliant economy and diversify. This opening in the Gulf for defence equipment can place Indian indigenous weapon systems not only for sale, but also offer joint-development schemes where the likes of Saudi and UAE can team up with Indian enterprise, both public and private sector, to develop weapons for consumption and also export. Six West Asian countries — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain — accounted for nearly 70% of all Indians who live abroad. New Delhi’s efforts to reach out to the Gulf countries during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic by sending medicines and medical teams had held the country in good stead. The Indian gesture was reciprocated by the West Asian countries as well.

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