Arabic Lessons

• About two-thirds of India’s oil and most of its gas comes from the region. Therefore, the region’s stability is in India’s interest
  
• India hopes to attract $500 billion for infrastructure development
  
• Over five million Indians are employed in the region. Includes blue-collar workers, professionals
  
• Indians there remit $9 billion every year.
  
• Many Indian companies are setting up base there; an important trans-shipment point for Indian goods

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Many blame the neglect of the Arab world to India’s skewed foreign policy. Former foreign minister K. Natwar Singh told Outlook, "For more than two years, the foreign office did nothing but hawk the N-deal." Agrees Rajiv Sikri, who as former secretary in the ministry of external affairs oversaw much of the Arab world, "Every waking moment was spent on the nuclear deal. Perhaps the Indian establishment felt it wasn’t sexy enough to engage with the Arabs."

But a month after signing the N-deal, India has begun to engage the Arab-Islamic world with an intensity rarely seen before. Manmohan completed a three-day visit to Qatar and Oman this week. Earlier, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee had been in Teheran. Next week, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will touch down in Delhi, Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan a few days later, and will be followed by Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League. The week-long cultural festival will feature films, painting, and music and dance—as also a seminar on civilisational ties between India and the Arab world. With over 100 participants from various countries, it should be an eye-opener for those who view Arabs as rich, vacuous and rabidly religious.

It was hard-headed realpolitik that influenced India’s course correction. To maintain its impressive economic growth, India needs assured supply to match the rising demand for energy. As also $500 billion over the next five years to build its creaking infrastructure. The global meltdown and the spectre of recession in the US and Europe have prompted India to turn to the oil-rich countries of the Gulf. For instance, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are said to be sitting on a trillion dollars each—and eager to look for new areas for investment. Says K.P. Fabian, who served as Indian ambassador in Doha, Qatar, "In the context of the global economic crisis India has realised that the Gulf states can provide it with sizeable investment."

Then there’s the political angle. The UPA’s passion for the N-deal and US president George Bush had supposedly alienated sections of Muslims and those liberals for whom America is anathema. A deeper engagement with the Arabs could help blunt the criticism that the UPA government is pro-America and raise the stock of the Congress in the impending general election.

Many in the Indian foreign policy establishment, however, disagree, arguing that Indo-Arab relations have always remained steady and cite the foreign minister’s frequent trips to West Asia to bolster their argument. India’s ambassador to the UAE Talmiz Ahmad says, "Currently, our relationship is quite substantial in the economic and cultural areas and it’s being constantly revitalised with high-level political dialogue. The PM’s visit to the Gulf is in line with this tradition. It’s deeply appreciated in the region." India’s ambassador in Oman, Anil Wadhwa, agrees: "We have remained engaged with the region. The only thing missing was a prime ministerial visit. Now, we have got that."

The Arab world’s importance to India is immense. The region meets nearly two-thirds of India’s oil demand. In 2007-08, for instance, India imported 121.67 million tonnes of crude, of which 73.74 per cent came from West Asia. Most of India’s natural gas is imported from Qatar. And then, nearly five million Indians working there send over $9 billion as remittance every year. Peace and stability in the region, as also keeping the sea lanes safe, are vital to India. The converse could seriously jeopardise India’s economic growth. The Indo-Qatar defence pact signed on the PM’s visit provides for a key Indian role in maintaining maritime security in the region.

Yet, for several years, neither Indian nor the Arab leaders displayed much interest in each other. Earlier this year, when Bashar al-Asad visited India, he broke a 30-year hiatus from the time the last Syrian president visited Delhi. Similarly, Hosni Mubarak will be coming to India after 26 years; Manmohan’s visit to Qatar was the first from an Indian PM. There are Arab countries to which no Indian PM has been for decades, nor have they sent their heads of state here.

"It’s important which self-image India wants to project to the Arab world," says K.C. Singh, who served as India’s ambassador in the UAE and Iran. But he cautions New Delhi from going to West Asia for only seeking funds. "The Arabs are familiar with people coming to them with their hat in their hand. India should go there as partner, not supplicant."

Despite the relative lack of political engagement at the highest level, India has a new, developing image. The nuclear tests of 1998, New Delhi’s increasing proximity to Washington, the global brand of Indian companies, its prowess in IT and emergence as an economic power have all added a sheen of modernity to what is the Arab idea of India. "There is increasing awareness in the Gulf about India as an economy, investment destination and provider of technologies," says Fabian.

Some, though, say India is perhaps a trifle late in engaging West Asia robustly. It has started seeking investments there after other bigger countries approached the Arabs. For instance, British prime minister Gordon Brown sought investments on his recent UAE visit. However belated, India needs a comprehensive policy for sustaining engagement with the Arab/Islamic world at the highest political level. They are known to detest those who are only their fair-weather friends.