PM Modi reaffirms historical ties with West Asia
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, known for his oratory skills and bear hugs, concluded yet another West Asia tour - this time covering three countries - Palestine, UAE and Oman. For India, West Asia is crucial for multiple reasons - right from trade and investment to strategic interests considering its location.
To further the same, the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a conscious, and vocal, effort to dehyphenate its links with conflicting countries - case in point being Palestine and Israel. Concerns and speculations were rife as to how India will manage to do it since PM Modi’s visit to Palestine came only a few weeks after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘historic’ six-day visit to the country. But Modi managed to achieve it to a great extent. From choosing to steer clear of Israeli territory by taking the longer route from Amman, to openly declaring support to a sovereign and independent Palestine - India was hailed as a ‘great guest’ by President Mahmoud Abbas.
The visit was also crucial to maintain the balance, considering the discomfort India’s growing rapport with Israel was causing at the international and domestic level. India spends nearly 1 billion dollars annually on defence equipment, and Israel is one of its biggest sellers. Of course, it did help that India had sided Palestine during the recent UN resolution against declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite its growing closeness to the latter. Historically, the domestic sentiments in India have largely been in favour of Palestine.
Ending the visit with a bear hug and six agreements, the Prime Minister headed to UAE, where the reception exceeded expectations on many levels. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi along with Cabinet ministers and members of the Royal family welcomed Modi at the airport, breaking away from the protocol. The crown prince Mohammad Bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan even accompanied the Prime Minister in the same vehicle ‘to get some extra time for one-onone interaction.
For India, UAE is crucial for three main aspects - trade, investment and strategic interests. While trade has steadily grown over the decades, thanks to the strong people-to-people relationship between the two countries, then jumpstart has also been given to investments under the Modi regime. Modi became the first Indian PM to visit the UAE in 34 years in 2015, and since then the high-level visits have proceeded at almost breakneck speed in comparison. Apart from 5 crucial government-to-government MoUs that were signed in energy, finance, manpower and railway sector, private MoUs between companies in UAE and India will ensure a boost in education ties. IIM-A, India’s premier management institution and Manipal Medical College will be setting up some extended campuses in Dubai. For the UAE on the other hand, friendship with India means looking beyond its traditional partners US and Europe. With increasing threat of Islamic radicalism in the Gulf, India’s dominance in South Asia means better intelligence sharing to combat terror.
Also with the west turning towards green energy, India’s market share in energy consumption is set to get bigger. That probably explains the first ever energy concession that Indian has received from the gulf. However, for the Indian diaspora the allocation of a 55000sq. meter land for the Hindu temple in Al Wathba was the highlight of the visit. By 2020, Abu Dhabi is set to get its first temple complex, tightening its embrace around the 3.3 million strong Indian diaspora.
From a relationship progressing in fastrack, the Prime Minister then headed to the ever-friendly Oman. While Indians started migrating to the UAE during the oil boom of the 1970s, the relationship with Oman is believed to be centuries old. With a strong relationship, already in place, the PM’s talks with Sultan Qaboos bin Said largely revolved around venturing into new areas of cooperation and the concerning situation in West Asia. Home to 800,000 Indians, the highlight of the PM visit here was his 1.5-hour-long speech at the Sultan Qaboos stadium, surrounded by around 25000 people from the NRI community.
From talking about the need to use technology for development to asking the expat community to be ‘responsible representatives’ of India, Modi did not disappoint his ardent supporters who had gathered. The PM’S first trip to Oman then ended with a visit to the century-old Shiv temple and the grand mosque.
For India, West Asia is crucial to maintain its influence in the South Asia region and safeguard India’s energy interests. UAE is the first contributor to India’s Strategic Fuel Reserves to be set up in Mangalore, India. Also, the relationship is key to India’s campaign in the UN security council.
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