Relationship of India with the UAE

In geopolitics and foreign policy making, things are often very long term, move slowly and look very deceptive and sometimes illusive also. From outside they often seem to move in the north direction but actually they lead in the south direction or might be in the east or west. It can be anything.

From the way the world perceives India today, it is very clear that India is doing well in the foreign policy making and positioning and placing its bets and people.

Relationship of India with most of the nations across the globe is improving dramatically. This is also true in the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The relationship of India with the UAE has never been so strong the way it looks today and it is becoming stronger day by day. None could have even thought of it 10-15 years back but Modi Government has done wonders in the last ten years to completely change it by serving and securing the economic interest of UAE.

In the present fast changing economic world, UAE needs to secure its economic interests as the fast changing fuel and transportation technology will certainly make fossil fuels almost irrelevant or very less important in the next one or two decades (not more than 2 decades). So it becomes very important that the UAE brings its dependence on fossil fuels down as much as possible. At present with more than 70% of population with the average age of less than 35 years and with a GDP of more than $3.75 trillion and which is expected to be $5 trillion economy in the next two to three years, India presents huge opportunity for any investor and for a sovereign investor like UAE which not only need to secure revenues but the natural resources and agricultural needs also, India with the largest cropland in the world is most suitable investment destination. India is using this opportunity to change the geopolitics in her favour.

The changing geopolitics is now defining geopolitical relationships benefiting some nations and while going against a few. In present day geopolitics, Pakistan is now almost isolated on the geopolitical stage and left with only one thing to connect with the Middle-East and that is Islam which also is becoming less relevant with passing time as the mutual national economic interests are more important than anything else.

Rajeev K Upadhyay