India & West Asia

Story hook

It is 9 September 2023, New Delhi. G20 Bharat Mandapam. Behind the closed-door huddle of leaders, PM Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ), Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der Leyen, Giorgia Meloni — and not in the room but observed from the sidelines — Xi Jinping's BRI — sign the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) Memorandum of Understanding.

A multimodal transit chain: Mumbai → Jebel Ali (UAE) → Saudi Arabia → Jordan → Haifa (Israel) → Piraeus (Greece) → EU. Ports + railways + undersea cables + green hydrogen + clean electricity pipelines. The Spice Route reborn — bypassing the Suez Canal by ~40% of transit time on certain routes, bypassing China's BRI through Pakistan + Central Asia.

The same year 18 July 2022, Jerusalem, Joe Biden had hosted the first I2U2 Leaders' Summit (virtually) — India + Israel + UAE + USA. Cooperation on water, food, energy, transportation, space, health. The "West Asian Quad".

Three months later, 7 October 2023: Hamas attack on Israel. Gaza war. The IMEC corridor through Israel and Jordan is interrupted before a single container moves. The Houthi Red Sea attacks (Nov 2023-) close the Bab el-Mandeb

• Suez routes; global shipping reroutes via Cape of Good Hope. IMEC's value rises even as its execution stalls.

Meanwhile India's Chabahar Port (Iran), under a 10-year operating contract signed 13 May 2024, opens an alternative route to Central Asia and Russia via Iran's INSTC. India buys discounted Russian Urals crude + Iranian oil under sanctions waivers; sends first Russian crude through Chabahar; brings Italian PM Meloni to Mumbai; signs Free Trade Agreement with UAE (CEPA, May 2022) + bilateral $100 billion trade target with Saudi by 2030.

This is India's West Asia chessboard — six simultaneous high-stakes games: Israel ↔ Iran ↔ Saudi ↔ UAE ↔ Egypt ↔ Russia ↔ US ↔ China. India plays them all with strategic autonomy.

Why this matters for UPSC

Prelims: I2U2 founding (Oct 2021 foreign ministers; July 2022 leaders); IMEC MoU date (9 Sept 2023); Chabahar 10-year contract (13 May 2024); INSTC; UAE CEPA (Feb 2022 signed, May 2022 in force); SPV (Strategic Petroleum Reserve); Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council 2019.

Mains GS-II/III: West Asia's centrality to Indian energy

• remittances + diaspora; India's "Link West" (2014) / "Think West" doctrine; multi-alignment in a polarised region; balancing Israel + Iran + Saudi + UAE; consequences of Gaza 2023 + Iran-Israel direct strikes 2024; alternative connectivity to BRI.

Interview: Can India lead the post-Abraham Accords West Asia? Why is Chabahar important when Gwadar is a few miles away? Should India choose Iran or Saudi?