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G20 and West Asia
India's invitation to the UAE and Oman was a reflection of how much the Gulf matters to India, for both economic and strategic reasons
UAE's President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a bilateral meeting, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. — PTI
On its fifth anniversary, the G20 made a commitment to “listen carefully” to the rest of the world, considering the far-reaching impacts of its decisions as a forum that represents nearly 85 per cent of the global GDP and 75 per cent of global trade, whose membership is ultimately limited to 20. Inviting guest countries every year is a crucial way for the G20 to engage with the world.
India’s guest list included Bangladesh, the UAE, Oman, Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria, Singapore, the Netherlands and Spain. The list reflects a mix of considerations which encompass friendly ties and strategic importance to India at a time when the country is vigorously working on strengthening its international partnerships. The invited countries are also very much in line with India’s commitment to make the G20 more inclusive and to amplify the voices of small or under-represented countries from the Global South.
That India invited two of its key partners from the Gulf Cooperation Council, the UAE and Oman to participate in the G20 is a reflection of how much the Gulf matters to India, for both economic and strategic reasons, and has been prioritised in India’s G20 presidency. Oman, which is India’s oldest strategic partner in the Gulf, was invited to the G20 for the first time. The UAE, an increasingly indispensable crucial strategic partner for India, had been a guest country in previous G20 presidencies, it was invited by Indonesia in 2022 and by Saudi Arabia in 2020.
A key pillar of India’s G20 agenda has been the demand for multilateral institutions to become more inclusive. The crisis in the multilateral system, precipitated by the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate emergency and the Ukraine-Russia conflict, has underlined the need for a more inclusive and accountable international system. India’s demand for multilateral reform has been vociferously backed by the UAE. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE, wrote in an editorial at the start of India’s presidency: “This strategy is a natural extension of the UAE’s foreign policy, which always seeks to support partners around the world and ensure that diverse perspectives are heard on the critical issues of our time.”
The interlinked crises of our times and the shakeup in the global order have led to countries pursuing strategic autonomy and multiple choices for partners. The recent expansion of BRICS, to include four West Asian nations, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran and Egypt, is a reflection of a resurgent West Asia and its growing international clout.
The upheaval in geopolitics has thrown up challenges as well as opportunities. One such opportunity has been the partnership between India and UAE, which has exponentially grown in this time. The UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner after the United States and China, while India is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner after China. To cement their ties, the two countries signed the first-ever bilateral free trade agreement last year. The relationship between India and the UAE spans defence, security, environment, education, health, commerce, investment, and is undergirded by strong cultural and people-to-people ties.
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The two countries have demonstrated a commitment to promoting each other’s global rise and work together in global fora. They are both a part of the quadrilateral forum the I2U2, which started last year with India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States as members, and the new UAE-France-India Trilateral Cooperation Initiative.
It is on the climate agenda that the two countries will be working in tandem this year. India, which has pressed on the importance of historical responsibility in climate action and championed the cause of developing economies during its G20 presidency, will hand over this agenda to the UAE, the host country for COP28. The two countries have released statements to affirm the importance of cooperating on the climate agenda through G20 and COP28. This year could well turn out to be a pivotal moment for the emergence of Asian global leadership on climate change.
Sunaina Kumar is Executive Director at Think20 India Secretariat under India's G20 presidency and Senior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation
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