Bridging the Gulf: on India, defence ties with Gulf nations Politics & News

The nearly two-hour visit of UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ) to Delhi on Monday, with only one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ended with a number of far-reaching outcomes. The UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner, its second biggest export destination, seventh biggest foreign investor, and concluded its first bilateral trade agreement with India in 2022. The agreements on Monday focused on the economic partnership — a commitment to double bilateral trade to $200 billion, an LNG deal for $3 billion and UAE investment in Gujarat. However, the major announcement was the intention to conclude a framework agreement for an India-UAE “Strategic Defence partnership”, the first of its kind. Details are still to be revealed. However, it is clear that West Asia and South Asia will be watching closely given the complicated security environment in both regions. MbZ’s sudden India visit came amidst heightened tensions between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both countries were once a part of the same military coalition against the Houthi uprising in 2014. Their power tussle has also intensified over forces in Sudan, and the lack of communication between MbZ and Saudi leader Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS) is now being called the Gulf region’s new “cold war”. In addition, protests in Iran and the U.S.’s threats to intervene as well as the tenuous Gaza ceasefire and U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for a Board of Peace have led to concerns about internal and external instability. Israel’s bombing in Qatar in September 2025, that led the Saudi government to rush a “mutual defence pact” with Pakistan, and reported negotiations of including Türkiye in the pact, portend a more complex and unstable region, with repercussions for India.

The announcement of the UAE-India negotiations for a defence agreement is being read by some as a possible military front to counter other regional alignments. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri attempted to downplay concerns, holding that the treaty was not about India’s involvement in “a hypothetical future scenario in the region”. Even so, the government must keep in mind ties not only with the UAE but also other important Gulf region countries, where nearly 10 million Indians reside. The GCC-area is a major energy source, especially as U.S. and EU sanctions have curtailed all of India’s other important sources. India’s cross-regional connectivity plans through Iran’s Chabahar port, the International North South Transport Corridor and the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor have been imperilled due to all the tensions as their future depends on cooperation with all players there. With important relationships in the region, and so many faultlines within it, India has little option but to tread lightly.