Crown Prince’s ‘yes’ to R-Day event, big boost
The coming of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, as chief guest at India’s Republic Day function in 2017, brings home a strong political message. At a time when the India-Pakistan relationship has been seriously rocked, his acceptance of the invitation shows a paradigm shift, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been a traditional ally of Pakistan. Though the decision to invite him was taken much before the current India-Pakistan stand-off, drawing the influential powers of the Gulf closer to India will help us fight cross-border terror.
Narendra Modi, who became the first Indian Prime Minister in 34 years to visit the UAE, in August last year, raised the bilateral ties to a new high. Since the creation of the UAE Federation in 1971, the relationship between the two countries flourished, with increasing trade playing a major role. During 2015-16, India's exports to the Gulf-Cooperation Council (GCC) countries increased considerably and trade with the UAE was recorded at around $96 billion. Over the last few months, the relationship has grown beyond trade, as the UAE has become one of the vocal nations in the region to support India in its war against terrorism. During Prime Minister Modi's visit, the joint statement issued by both countries repeatedly expressed concern over the terror threats coming from the neighbourhood. But it needs to be seen how the UAE will deal with critical issues like terror-financing.
Modi's constant foreign outreach has paid dividend. His visit to the UAE received a positive response, as the Emirates promised to invest around $75 billion in the country's infrastructure sector in the long term. The UAE's help to modernise India's infrastructure will play a critical role in generating employment in the country. Unlike other Gulf nations, the UAE is not much affected by the current economic slowdown. Hence, deepening ties with the UAE may bring not only economic prosperity back home, but also help India play a larger role among the GCC countries. Given the fact that India is emerging as among the fastest growing economies of the world, the UAE is also scaling its efforts to come closer to the former. India's reliance on the UAE for its oil imports will grow in the coming years with the ever-rising domestic demand. In terms of imports, India is the third largest partner of the UAE. Thus, both nations are mutually dependent.
India's ambition to play a global role needs support from the Gulf nations, which have remained strong players in boosting our economy for long. Apart from this, the millions of Indians who are working in the Gulf nations also contribute significantly to the growth of our economy. Thus, re-energising ties with the UAE will be significant for India, both politically and economically. It is an opportunity for New Delhi to turn the traditional business ties into a strong, long-term strategic partnership.