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Ministers and delegates of the 22-member Arab League are gathering successful Delhi for the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting connected January 30-31, 2026. This is simply a large diplomatic outreach by India astatine a clip erstwhile determination are aggregate conflicts brewing connected the skyline successful the portion and the satellite is grappling with the rapidly changing planetary order, acceptable successful question mostly owed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s full disregard for the sovereignty of nations and the rules-based planetary order.
As the ministers stitchery successful Delhi, warfare clouds are inactive hovering implicit Iran and the monolithic subject build-up by the U.S. continues. In Syria, contempt a ceasefire, uncertainty continues and semipermanent bid is inactive immoderate region away. Gaza yet looks towards transitioning to bid adjacent arsenic details of signifier 2 of the ceasefire are inactive successful the works. The betterment of the assemblage of the past Israeli hostage from Gaza connected January 26 is simply a large triumph for Israel and whitethorn good motivate it to determination towards relaxing the restrictions successful Gaza.
However, the astir astonishing improvement is the emergence of responsibility lines among 2 adjacent allies — Saudi Arabia and the UAE — mostly implicit conflicting interests successful Yemen but besides implicit powerfulness and power successful the region. We request to ticker retired for the anticipation of rival subject alliances. India, too, is intimately monitoring the situation, portion formulating its ain strategy for the region.
India and the Arab League
The Arab League, officially known arsenic the League of Arab States (LAS), was formed successful Cairo connected March 22, 1945, initially with 7 members. Today, it has 22 subordinate states from North Africa and West Asia. Although India’s relations with countries successful the Arab League spell backmost centuries, the engagement with the LAS was formalised successful March 2002 erstwhile a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed, institutionalising the process of dialogue. The MoU is aimed to “promote and make the accepted narration of relationship and practice betwixt India and the Arab States” and provides for yearly meetings betwixt the External Affairs Minister of India and the Secretary General of the Arab League.
During the sojourn of Arab League Secretary General, Amr Moussa, to India successful December 2008, the Arab-India Cooperation Forum (AICF) was established. And successful December 2010, the Indian Ambassador to Egypt was designated arsenic India’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League. The archetypal gathering of the AICF was held successful January 2016 astatine Manama, Bahrain. In addition, determination is the India-LAS Partnership and Investment Summit, a biennial flagship economical event. During the existent sojourn of overseas ministers, a caller inaugural called the India and Arab Countries Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture is scheduled to beryllium inaugurated.
Key pillars of engagement
The India-LAS concern goes beyond commercialized and investment. Over the past decade, strategical partnerships and information person emerged arsenic important areas of engagement. Oman was the archetypal state with which India signed a strategical concern successful 2008. With the signing of akin agreements with the UAE successful 2015, Saudi Arabia successful 2019, Egypt successful 2023, and Qatar successful 2025, the extent and scope of strategical convergence with the portion has grown rapidly.
India has besides powerfully rallied for the portion successful assorted multilateral forums specified arsenic BRICS and SCO. Even among the strategical imaginativeness of countries, determination are important convergences, whether it is the Saudi Vision 2030, the UAE Centennial 2071, the Kuwait Vision 2035, the Oman Vision 2040, oregon India’s Viksit Bharat successful 2047. In fact, successful the Saudi Vision 2030, India is 1 of the 8 strategical partners.
Trade and investments proceed to beryllium the bedrock of the narration and person stood the trial of time, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of India’s outer commercialized passes done the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. Bilateral commercialized betwixt India and the Arab League presently stands astatine implicit $240 billion. India has signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE and Oman. As a result, bilateral commercialized with the UAE has already crossed $115 cardinal and has present been reset astatine $200 cardinal by 2030. Major concern commitments successful India person been made by the UAE ($75 billion), Saudi Arabia ($100 billion) and Qatar ($10 billion), mostly successful the fast-growing infrastructure sector. The cumulative FDI successful India from the portion has crossed $2.5 billion. As commercialized ties grow, connectivity becomes an impsortant origin to guarantee speed, ratio and corporate prosperity. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, launched astatine the G20 Leaders’ Summit successful New Delhi successful September 2023, therefore, gains value and is apt to beryllium discussed astatine the meeting.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushing for improvement of integer nationalist infrastructure for velocity and transparency of transactions, Fintech is emerging arsenic yet different country of communal convergence. The RuPay paper was launched successful the UAE successful August 2019. From July 2023, the Indian rupee is being accepted arsenic ineligible currency astatine Dubai airports. Also, India and the UAE person operationalised the rupee-dirham colony system. India’s Unified Payments Interface is already accepted for fiscal transactions successful Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE and is apt to turn further successful the LAS countries soon.
Energy is simply a captious pillar of the partnership. The portion caters to astir 60% of India’s crude lipid imports, 70% of earthy gas, and much than 50% of fertilizers and related products. Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are the apical 3 exporters of crude oil. The UAE has besides signed an statement with India to store strategical lipid reserves successful the country, operationalised with an archetypal concern of $400 million. With Qatar, the $78 cardinal Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) woody signed successful February 2024, with assured import of 7.5 cardinal tonnes of LNG a twelvemonth for different 20 years, adds a captious nexus to India’s vigor security. In addition, successful July 2023, ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) and Indian Oil signed a LNG declaration for 1.2 cardinal metric tonnes per annum implicit a play of 14 years.
Living nether the menace of conflicts and terror, information and defence are increasing arsenic important pillars successful the partnership. Defence concern agreements person been signed with aggregate countries successful the LAS including Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar and are growing. India’s maritime information initiatives specified arsenic Security and Growth for All successful the Region (SAGAR) purpose to beforehand associated collaboration successful the Indian Ocean Region, peculiarly against oversea piracy and maritime information threats. India’s statement with Oman implicit the Duqm larboard is simply a strategical woody that offers a captious vantage to the Indian Navy successful its operations successful the portion portion besides allowing it to support a discreet ticker connected the enactment of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy. The menace of warfare successful Iran and the aboriginal of the Gaza bid process are communal areas of information concerns successful the portion and are apt to fig arsenic a cardinal docket during the meetings.
Most of the LAS countries are successful full sync successful India’s combat against cross-border panic and person condemned the Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama, and Pahalgam panic attacks successful India. Joint accumulation of defence instrumentality and export of cardinal limb platforms specified arsenic the Tejas combatant aircraft, BrahMos and Aakash missiles, and artillery guns are besides emerging arsenic important attractions for LAS countries. Cyber, abstraction and drone are aboriginal areas of cooperation.
Looking ahead
As India grows into a large economic, political, and subject power, the Arab League portion forms a captious portion of its planetary matrix. For LAS countries too, India is simply a beardown and reliable partner. The countries of the 2 regions whitethorn beryllium separated by the Arabian Sea but are joined by history, destiny, trust, and increasing brotherhood. The gathering of the overseas ministers of LAS successful Delhi offers the cleanable accidental to forge person ties and question caller avenues of engagement.
Col. Rajeev Agarwal (Retired), Senior Research Consultant, Chintan Research Foundation
