Jaishankar says India sees Middle East region as 'crucial passage to world beyond'

ABU DHABI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday highlighted the significant expansion of India-Middle East engagement driven by strong trade, connectivity, and people-to-people linkages, saying India sees the Middle East as a crucial passage to the world beyond.

Addressing the inaugural session of Raisina Middle East here, Jaishankar said the Middle East region, which India calls West Asia, is crucial to India's strategic interests. The country's trade in the Gulf region amounts to about USD 160 to USD 180 billion.

"Our presence in the Gulf is both pervasive and crucial. More than 9 million Indians live and work here, but the Gulf also serves as a gateway to the MENA region and the Mediterranean," Jaishankar said, adding this larger geography is a very critical connection between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic.

"And as our history underlines, there is a symbiotic relationship between us. We certainly have stakes that are continually rising; but increasingly, India also has contributions to make that would influence the direction of events," a Ministry of External Affairs statement quoted Jaishankar as saying.

"Our annual trade with the Mediterranean, incidentally, is another USD 80 billion, and the Indian diaspora there is close to half a million," the minister said, adding that India's projects in the region include airports, ports, railways, phosphates, green hydrogen, steel and submarine cables.

Jaishankar said the endeavours of India and the Middle East can be projected further into Africa, Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

"Perhaps there is no domain that has a stronger case for such plurilateral cooperation than that of connectivity... Maritime security and safety is another issue where understandings and mechanisms will have to step in to fill global deficits.

Jaishankar said the two regions, long connected by the flow of people, have a common interest in the emergence of a global workplace.

"This is all the more necessary when new industries like semiconductors or electric mobility scour the world for skills and talent. The Gulf, in particular, has been a trendsetter in this regard. As Middle Eastern nations themselves explore emerging and critical technologies, as they fully exploit the current and future energy potential, they will surely utilize the current foundation of goodwill and experience to bolster their capabilities," he said.

Jaishankar said the Middle East is an extended neighbourhood with which India has fully reconnected, and New Delhi needs to deepen its engagement with the region.

The minister here also met Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to UAE President, on Tuesday morning and discussed the special partnership between India and UAE and its further progress.