​Beyond the optics: on Indian diplomacy, the global order Politics & News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-nation tour to Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman, last week, had some common and connecting threads. The visit was primarily an attempt to draw closer bilateral ties with each country in a world that is turning increasingly transactional. Beyond that, however, all three countries belong to the Global South that India seeks leadership of and each is an important development partner in their respective regions. Mr. Modi’s talks with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq saw the signing of the Cooperation Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Oman-India trade has doubled to $10 billion in recent years. CEPA is expected to smooth the path for free trade agreement talks between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council. In Jordan, Mr. Modi met with King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, with the two sides launching cooperation agreements on renewable energy and water management. Mr. Modi’s visit to Addis Ababa saw the launch of a strategic partnership. In the meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, the talks were on strengthening trade and knowledge and technology exchanges. The discussions were also key in terms of scheduling the much-delayed Africa-India summit, to be held in India. Ethiopia is not just the headquarters of the African Union, it is a new member of BRICS, and with India taking over the Chairmanship in 2026, it will be an important partner in setting out development and economic relations within both groupings.

In Amman, India and Jordan had less significant bilateral agreements but the talks were understood to be important in terms of the West Asian conflict and the Gaza Peace proposal. The tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbours have now imperilled the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor which is meant to traverse through Jordan. The Joint Statement in Amman had no mention of the corridor. Mr. Modi’s presence in Jordan and a reiteration of India’s traditional support for the Palestinian cause at a time when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was in Israel to meet Netanyahu government leaders was possibly meant to reassure the Arab leadership and those in the Global South strongly opposed to Israel’s actions, that India’s principled stand has not changed. The joint statement with Oman underlined the need for a resolution in Gaza including the establishment of a “sovereign and independent Palestinian state”. However, unless that message is reiterated with India’s Israeli interlocutors, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu who is expected to visit India in the new year, the import of visits such as the one by Mr. Modi would fail to build on the optics of bonhomie for a shared vision of the global order.