The grand visit of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Khalifa Al-Thani to India, in the turbulent times in West Asia, has a tremendous amount of diplomatic and strategic importance
As several parts of West Asia is burning with rage over non-stop civil rights violations and Islamists’ onslaught on humanity, Qatar is one of the few countries in the Arabian region which shows promise to the civilised world. However, unlike the Western powers which deem it appropriate to interfere in the internal affairs in the war-torn countries, India has been treading cautiously while making its stand clear in the conflict zone. The Gulf, Arabian or Persian, has been a promised land for India since, maybe, time immemorial.
Seen in this context, the recent visit of Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Khalifa Al-Thani to India augurs well for both the countries — for Qatar to find a partner outside the Muslim world, and for India to explore markets besides securing a stable energy supplier. Qatar has carved out an exceptionally high-profile niche in the West Asian political landscape in the last few decades. Despite being one of the smallest Gulf states, with a landmass of 12,000 square kilometres and a native population totalling only 12 per cent, Qatar is one of the world’s richest countries (in terms of per capita GDP) and leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (lNG). Qatar has hogged the limelight in the last few decades as a leading Gulf state in the international diplomatic and economic spheres of the West Asia.
Adding to Qatar’s confidence are security insurance from the US — Al-Udeid Air Base and Camp Al-Sayliyah of the US Central Command —and the affluence generated from the resources of its natural gas and oil. These have strengthened it with an amazing leverage to overtly intervene in resolving the enigmas between conflicting countries and religious factions in the region. It began to play a role of neutral peace builder, mediator and donor of financial humanitarian aids in almost every problematic place and occasions in the region. Its initiatives in lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, Palestine and Afghanistan are some of the very salient chapters of its mediation history.
Qatar has balanced its strategic relations with western world and regional Arab countries, as well as dealing with Islamic movements and groups in the region. While Qatar maintained an official relations with Israel, it has managed to successfully pursue a healthy relations with Iran, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist wings. The polar-opposite relations with arch rivals make Qatari foreign policy an unconventional one.
However, its unequivocal approach to Arab Spring tarnished its image as a neutral and impartial mediator for peace. While Qatar backed rebels in Tunisia, libya, Egypt, Yemen and Syria financially, militarily, and with publicity supports through its satellite TV channel coverage, it kept a strategic and uneasy silence on the Bahraini uprising. With the launch of the Al-Jazeera Satellite TV in 1996, Qatar exploited it to brand itself as a neutral and liberal modern state in the Gulf. This foreign policy weapon, Al-Jazzera, has been projecting Qatar policies in political, economic, educational, sports, tourism, IT, communication, banking, and real estate fields. Al-Jazeera gave Qatar an upper hand over Saudi-based Al-Arabiya in branding itself in the West Asia.
Diversifying its affluent lNG energy-based economy to different sectors and investing abroad, Qatar has been cementing its economic power and boosting its international relations. In the wake of Arab Spring and the new threats of ISIS scenario in the region, Qatar has begun to strengthen its international relations. It has paid great attention to boost its bilateral relations with Asian countries, especially in economic, diplomatic, technological, and defence sectors. located in a very turbulent region with abundant energy resources, Qatar’s international relations in every field can give it a sense of security.
As its citizens are in minority (12% of the total population), Qatar has followed its policy to sustain its plurality with security-based bilateral relations with major world powers. Here its stands in contrast to Saudi Arabia. The recent visit of Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to India has to be reviewed in this context. The Gulf region has always been a great geo-strategic significance for India. The bilateral relations between India and Gulf states have always flourished through multi-level linkages. India-Qatar ties have a long history of commercial, cultural, and social relations. It is still flourishing with an active support from Indian diaspora and high-level commercial dealings.
Indians are the largest immigrant community in Qatar — 24% of Qatar’s total population. Indians’ allurement to Qatar has increased exponentially after the Nitaqat implementations in Saudi Arabia, which has the third largest Indian immigrant population following the UAE and Qatar. While Saudis went ahead with hardening their labour laws related to the foreign workforce in every field, Qatar has introduced many immigrant-friendly policies and laws.
This has helped Qatar increase its geo-political influence in the region. Moreover, Qatar finds closeness with Asian giants, particularly India, as a counter force in the wake of Saudis intensifying ties with Pakistan. Although a big chunk of Indians were earlier engaged in unskilled and semi-skilled sectors there, their enterprising and professional skills have won the diaspora a reputed status now. The Indian diaspora not only serves as strong cultural and economic links between India and Qatar, it also serves as a strong pillar of diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries. Moreover, the Indian community has an instrumental role in making Qatar a well-developed Gulf state. They have been engaged in administrative, economic, technological, academic, medical and other social spheres.
Qatar’s liberal and secular approach towards different religious and ethnic communities has great impact on its foreign policy, particularly with India. With the increasing strategic intimacy with India, which has the largest Hindu population, Qatar could ratify its liberal stand of foreign policy in the South Asian regions. Qatar is the largest supplier of lNG to India. There is a huge market for Qatar’s lNG, oil and petrochemical sectors in India. With the visit of Emir Tamim to India, the two countries are exploring ways and means to diversify their relations beyond the energy sectors. Six new agreements, in areas of scientific, economic, diplomatic, and technological spheres, have been signed. Qatar is also a lucrative market for Indian products.
The textile materials, spices, machinery items, electrical and electronic tools are well accepted Indian products in Qatar. There are already existing defence understanding and cooperation between the two countries on issues like, terrorism, piracy, maritime security, money laundering, narcotics and trans-national crimes since 2008. There are also cooperation agreements in multilateral institutions, political consultations, and in radio and television fields. These friendly relations have been cemented with frequent high-level visits of ministers and officials from both sides. The grand visit of the young Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Khalifa Al-Thani, to India, in the turbulent times of West Asia, has a tremendous amount of diplomatic and strategic importance.
(The writer is Assistant professor, Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi)