NEW QUAD – INTERNATIONAL
News: In
new ‘Quad’ meet with U.S, Saudi and UAE, Doval discusses infrastructure
initiatives in Gulf
What's in the news?
● Saudi Prince and Prime
Minister Mohammad Bin Salman hosted a special meeting
of the National Security Advisers (NSAs) of India, the U.S. and the UAE, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in
what is being billed as another important “Quad” in West Asia.
Key takeaways:
● The
meeting, to consider regional initiatives on infrastructure, was billed last
week by U.S. NSA Jake Sullivan as “unlike anything seen in the region in recent
years”.
● The
visit by the NSA is significant as it follows a week after his visit to Iran,
which recently agreed to restart ties with Saudi Arabia in a meeting brokered
by Beijing.
Importance of the meet:
● The
meeting highlights the convergence of
strategic interests of the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and India in the Gulf region
and new possibilities of strategic alliances for India.
1. Regional infrastructure:
● The
focus of the meeting was regional infrastructure initiatives.
● It
further added that among the projects is a plan to connect Gulf countries via a
railway network and connect to India via shipping lanes from “two ports” in the
region”.
2. Countering China:
● This
meeting is particularly noteworthy since it took place only a week after the
U.S. NSA's visit to Iran, which recently agreed to restart ties with Saudi
Arabia in a meeting brokered by Beijing.
● The
meetings on infrastructure were meant to provide a counter to China’s Belt and Road initiative and
other inroads in the region.
3. Growth and Stability:
● According
to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the leaders discussed ways to
strengthen relations between their countries to promote growth and stability in
the region.
4. Interconnectivity:
● The
U.S. White House also released a statement indicating that the meeting aimed to
advance their shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Middle East region
that is interconnected with India and the rest of the world.
New developments in the Gulf Geo-politics:
1. Decline of Pakistan’s Strategic Relevance:
● Pakistan
in the 1950s was widely viewed as a moderate Muslim nation with significant
prospects for economic growth.
● Pakistan’s
continuing strategic decline makes it a lot less relevant to the changing
geopolitics of the Gulf.
● It
has now locked itself into a self-made
trap of violent religious extremism and its political elite is utterly
unprepared to lift the nation economically.
● To
make matters more complicated, Pakistan
has drifted too close to China.
● As
the US-China confrontation sharpens, Islamabad is tempted to align with China
(and boost its “all-weather partnership” with Beijing) and Russia in the
region.
2. Strategic Convergence of the US and India in the
Gulf:
● Contrary
to the widespread perception, the US will not abandon the Middle East. But it
certainly is recalibrating its regional strategy.
● Two
of them stand out with respect to India’s interest.
○ One
is about building new partnerships,
including with Delhi.
○ Other
is about the integration of the Arabian
Peninsula into India and the world.
3. India's interest in Gulf:
● India’s
self-imposed ideological taboo was broken with the formation of a four-nation
grouping, unveiled in October 2021 - called I2U2 that brought the US, India, Israel, and the UAE together.
● India
is also doubling down with a new quadrilateral
with the US, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
India’s Current Foreign Policy towards Gulf Region:
1. Improved relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE:
● The
current dispensation transformed India’s uneasy relations with the two Arabian
kingdoms, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, into solid strategic partnerships.
● The
Prime Minister has received the highest
civilian honour from the UAE and Saudi Arabia for his effort to improve
bilateral relations.
2. Strategic Trilateral Relationship with France and
the UAE:
● France
has emerged as an important partner in the Gulf and the Western Indian Ocean.
India now has a trilateral dialogue with Abu Dhabi and Paris.
● The
prospect of Delhi and London working together in the Gulf is very likely.
Britain enjoys much residual influence in the Gulf.
3. Shedding the Anti-Western Lens:
● The
Nehruvian foreign policy of keeping a distance from the US in the Middle East
is being discarded, and India is working with the US in the Gulf region.
4. Building New Partnerships:
● The
formation of a four-nation grouping called I2U2, comprising the US, India,
Israel, and the UAE, highlights the growing strategic convergence between Delhi
and Washington in the Gulf.
5. Rejection of Ideological Taboo:
● India
is shedding its ideological taboo of keeping its distance from Israel, and
transforming its relations with the two Arabian kingdoms, Saudi Arabia and the
UAE, into solid strategic partnerships.
6. Expansion of Partnerships:
● In
addition to the US, India is beginning to work with France in the Gulf and the
Western Indian Ocean.
7. Change in Perception:
● The
US is leading the West to discard its pro-Pakistan bias and rethink the
relationship between the Subcontinent and the Gulf.
Gains for India with its changed stance:
1. Economic growth:
● The
emerging Arabian Peninsula presents enormous new possibilities for India’s
economic growth, given the massive
financial capital and ambitious economic transformation of Gulf kingdoms like
Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
2. Connectivity and security:
● India
can play a productive role in promoting connectivity and security within Arabia
and between it and abutting regions, including Africa, the Middle East, Eastern
Mediterranean, and the Subcontinent.
3. Overcoming extremism:
● The
engagement with the Gulf can also help India overcome the dangerous forces of
violent religious extremism within the Subcontinent.
4. Elevating India’s standing:
● The
new opportunities in Arabia and the emerging possibilities for partnership with
the US and the West position India to rapidly elevate its own standing in the
region.
WAY FORWARD:
● The
Middle East is a critical source of
investment, energy, and remittances for India.
● Platforms
like this offer a very constructive and progressive stage to India in
particular and other member countries in general to counter the aggressive and
assertive behaviour
of China that is posing a serious threat to regional security.
● The
rise of the new ‘Quad in West Asia could provide Washington with a geostrategic solution to the pressing
challenge of the U.S. presence in the region and how to do more with less while
connecting the bloc with the new U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.
Further Reference - I2U2