look news india
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gulf countries have come closer to India and have become an integral part of India's comprehensive neighbourhood policy. Italy's Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) has claimed this in its latest report.
According to the report, India's relations with the Gulf countries have completely changed since PM Modi took power in 2014. Gulf countries are now at the priority level in India's foreign policy and security policy. Gulf countries include Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The ISPI report states that India is increasing its influence in the Gulf countries. Earlier, the relations between India and the Gulf countries were focused on energy and trade, but now political cooperation, investment, defense and security cooperation have also increased between the two sides. India is trying to attract investment from the Gulf countries and accelerate its growth rate. At the same time, India also wants to face its regional challenges in the Arabian Sea and Gulf regions and wants to strengthen its influence and reach.
Modi visited UAE in 2015 after assuming power
After assuming power, Prime Minister Modi visited the United Arab Emirates in 2015. This was the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to the United Arab Emirates in 34 years. While the Bahrain visit in August 2019 was the first Bahrain visit by an Indian Prime Minister. Now how strong the relations between India and UAE have become during PM Modi's tenure can be gauged from the fact that PM Modi has visited UAE seven times after coming to power. Trade between India-Gulf countries increased rapidly
88 lakh Indians live in Gulf countries. The Gulf Cooperation Council is India's largest trading partner. In the financial year 2022-23, these GCC alone accounted for 15.8 percent of India's total trade. This was followed by the European Union. The UAE is also India's major trading partner among the Gulf countries. Investments by Gulf countries in India have also increased rapidly. India has become a big market for these countries.
