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Iranian foreign policy must move toward strategic autonomy and internal concord. As witnessed after the 1988 ceasefire with Iraq, such moments can mark an inflexion point - one that prioritises national reconstruction, resilience, and welfare; strategic recalibration, strengthening of confidence, and finding a geopolitical identity. Iran has been there before, and can apply those experiences again.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The proposed IMEC corridor connecting India to Europe through the Gulf can be transformative, helping to reduce risks to the global movement of goods and data. It’s early days yet, and there are gaps to be filled in terms of missing infrastructure and overcoming a diplomatic rift.
Courtesy: Reuters photo
Presidential visits abroad are high-level instruments of statecraft and, more often than not, signals of geopolitical priorities. The recent visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, exemplified this, indicating the administration's policy orientation.
Courtesy: AP
Saudi Arabia has been the new centre for mediation between warring states and their sponsors. It reflects the shifting dynamics in an increasingly multipolar world and the redefinition of power structures. This role has extended to other Gulf states, which have strategically positioned themselves as neutral players, leveraging their strong relations with the great powers, and adopted culturally sensitive to consensus-building.
Courtesy: Oxford University Press
The India Middle-East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) announced during India’s G20 leaders’ summit in September 2023 aims at security and ease of connectivity by multi-modal physical, digital and energy corridors connecting India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Europe. Like many of the connectivity projects created around the world today, IMEC’s origins are 2,300 years old, ancient routes that connected the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea
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The Gulf is increasing its diplomatic weightage globally. The maximum acceleration has been by the UAE, which is leveraging its advantages of economy, location, and connectivity to position itself as a key regional and geopolitical facilitator.
Courtesy: India Briefing
Trade-shy India is now energetically embarking on a series of trade agreements to boost exports, remove barriers for skilled Indian professionals and secure imports of essential raw materials for manufacturing growth. New trade agreements signed with Australia, the UAE and soon the U.K. will be templates for more to come.
Courtesy: Economic Times
India is stepping into a new era of free trade agreements in the midst of turbulent global waters that bring both risks and opportunities. A fragile global recovery can dampen demand for India’s goods, but it can also attract medium and high-tech manufacturing sectors leaving China, benefit from technology and skill transfer from abroad and lay a strong foundation for growth.
Courtesy: Reuters
The Ukraine crisis has sent the EU scrambling for new gas supplies, generating fresh interest in gas pipelines from Central Asia and West Asia via Turkey. Practical difficulties make most of these new projects unviable.
Courtesy: Twitter : Narendra Modi
Indians are the largest expatriate community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Their contribution to building that nation is being celebrated this year, which is also the UAE’s golden jubilee year. Cultural fluency built on centuries-old trade and migration makes it easier for Indians and Gulf Arabs to collaborate.