PM Modi’s Middle-East Diplomacy: Reinforcing Relationship with the Gulf

Gulf has changed qualitatively in so far as India is concerned. They look at the country as a reliable, steady and strategic partner in its real sense which is helped a great deal by the presence of valuable Indian Diaspora and their selfless contribution to the development of the West Asian countries. India has also emerged as a safe and credible destination for their investments. At the political level, there has been a sea change ever since PM Narendra Modi embarked on his engagement with the leadership in the region, especially in the Gulf countries. He visited UAE several times, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Iran apart from Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. He developed a tremendous personal rapport with the leadership many of who visited India including the UAE Crown Prince who was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day 2018 –one of the highest diplomatic honor India confers on her special friends. The leaders from Saudi Arabia, Palestine, UAE, and Bahrain conferred their highest civilian honor on Prime Minister Modi which is unprecedented, to say the least. A clear testament to the importance they attach to developing ties with India. It is in this context that the recent visit of PM Modi to UAE and Bahrain from August 23-25 needs to be seen.Read More…