Unlike last year, why India is now more vocal in insisting on a ceasefire in Gaza

medium nocaption113258804India’s relationship with the Arab world was again in focus this week as external affairs minister S Jaishankar unequivocally called for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, while reminding Israel that any response to the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas must consider the principles of humanitarian law. Addressing his counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in Riyadh, Jaishankar also said that while India condemns acts of terrorism, it’s deeply pained by the continuing death of innocent civilians. He underlined that the current situation in Gaza was “understandably” India’s foremost concern.Jaishankar also reiterated India’s support for a resolution of the Palestinian issue through a two-state solution. “We have also contributed to the building of Palestinian institutions and capacities. Where the humanitarian situation is concerned, we have provided relief and increased our support to UNRWA,” said the minister. India provides aid to Palestine refugees through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).India’s repeated pronouncements of support for the two-state solution is important for Arab nations as they work to organise an international conference under the UN to resolve the Palestinian issue based on the same. The recent Bahrain Declaration underlined the significance of achieving a two-state solution “which ends the Israeli occupation of all occupied Arab territories, embodying an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy, to live in peace and security alongside Israel, as a way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace”.While Jaishankar was addressing what was the first India-GCC foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue meeting, where a four-year joint action plan was adopted for ramping up cooperation in areas like health, energy, trade, security and food security, PM Narendra Modi hosted Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his first visit to India. The visit was focused on energy security as India and the UAE signed 5 MoUs including one for nuclear cooperation and another for long-term LNG supply between UAE and India. medium113258243A far cryJaishankar’s remarks on the Gaza situation are the latest in a series of public reiterations by India in the past month or so of support for Gaza ceasefire, in a sign of solidarity with its Gulf partners as the conflict shows no sign of abating even after almost 12 months. PM Modi’s conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu last month saw him calling for a ceasefire along with immediate release of hostages. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri sought the same in a meeting with senior Israeli officials late last month. medium113260072This focus on immediate truce is a far cry from India’s reluctance last year to publicly seek ceasefire, despite concerns in the Gulf about Israel’s use of disproportionate force. India eventually came around to backing the ceasefire only in the form of its vote in favour of a UNGA resolution in December seeking the same.India’s position has gradually evolved since then, with Jaishankar saying in February that Israel should have been mindful of civilian casualties and India joining other BRICS member-states in June in condemning Israel’s actions in Rafah and its "blatant disregard of international law".As the Gaza crisis grows murkier, the Indian government realises that any spillover of the conflict into the wider West Asia region will hurt India’s considerable economic and security interests, while posing challenges to its ties with both Israel and Arab nations. Merely watching from the sidelines may also dent India’s goodwill with the Global South.Why Gulf is important for India Modi’s visit to Kyiv has been making the headlines but perhaps it’s more important for India that the conflict in Gaza comes to an end as soon as possible, not least because of the presence of a large Indian diaspora. GCC countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE – are together home to almost 9 million or 90 lakh-strong Indian expatriate community. medium nocaption113258402Ensuring their well-being has been an important foreign policy priority for successive Indian governments, and Jaishankar in the meeting with his GGC counterparts thanked them for taking care of Indian workers. This diaspora remains the largest source of remittances for India. Out of the $90 billion India received as remittances in 2021-22, the GCC accounted for about 30%, with the UAE’s contribution alone pegged at 18%. The remittances shot up to $ 125 billion in 2022-23, with a substantial chunk coming from the Gulf. medium nocaption113258559The Gulf and India complement each other perfectly with the former being, as Jaishankar put it, a cornerstone of global energy supply and the latter one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets. Countries in the region, including Iraq, account for around 60 per cent of India’s oil needs. There’s also growing partnership in technology and innovation, renewables, health, space and education.A part of India's extended neighbourhood, GCC is also India's largest trading partner bloc. UAE is India's third-largest trading partner and Saudi Arabia fourth. With a large Muslim population, next only to Indonesia perhaps, it also serves India’s interests to have strong ties with the Arab world. The presence of some of these friendly States also helps dilute to some extent the Pakistan-sponsored anti-India agenda in the OIC. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also seem more receptive now to India’s concerns about cross-border terrorism.India has already signed an agreement with the UAE for implementation of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and the visit by the UAE crown prince saw a launch of work on a virtual trade corridor to facilitate the same. The delay caused by the West Asia situation in the progress of IMEEC, which was launched at the G20 summit in Delhi last year, is a major concern for India. With both UAE and Saudi Arabia pledging support, IMEEC has opened a new chapter in India-Gulf cooperation as India and the US focus on delivering sustainable growth, providing a viable alternative to China’s BRI.