{"id":29353,"date":"2024-09-12T19:40:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=29353"},"modified":"2024-09-12T19:40:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:10:06","slug":"india-and-gcc-joint-action-plan-for-2024-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-09-2024\/india-and-gcc-joint-action-plan-for-2024-2028","title":{"rendered":"India and GCC: Joint Action Plan for 2024-2028"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held their <strong>inaugural Foreign Ministers meeting<\/strong> in Riyadh, where they adopted a <strong>Joint Action Plan for 2024-2028.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This plan encompasses various collaborative activities in <strong>health, trade, agriculture, food security, transportation, energy, and culture.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The plan allows for <strong>additional cooperative areas<\/strong> based on mutual agreement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>EAM S. Jaishankar also held <strong>separate bilateral meetings<\/strong> with his counterparts from <strong>Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain<\/strong> on the margins of the India-GCC Ministerial meeting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Gulf Region<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Gulf Region typically refers to the countries surrounding the <strong>Persian Gulf in the Middle East.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It includes nations like <strong>Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This region is known for its <strong>vast oil reserves,<\/strong> which have significantly influenced global economics and politics.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a <strong>political and economic alliance<\/strong> of <strong>six Middle Eastern countries<\/strong>\u2014Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was established in<strong> 1981.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is Headquartered at<strong> Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It aims to achieve unity among its members based on their common objectives and their similar political and cultural identities, which are rooted in Arab and Islamic cultures.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Presidency of the council rotates <strong>annually<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eadccc\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"654\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Gulf-Cooperation-Council-GCC-jpg.webp\" alt=\"Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-29354\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eadccc; width:400px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Gulf-Cooperation-Council-GCC-jpg.webp 654w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Gulf-Cooperation-Council-GCC-300x266.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 654px) 100vw, 654px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of Gulf Region for India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India\u2019s priorities include <\/strong>attracting investments to increase economic growth, addressing regional security concerns (including in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf), and enhancing its regional presence and influence. <strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Security:<\/strong> The Gulf countries are major suppliers of crude oil and natural gas to India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is highly dependent on Gulf oil for its energy needs, making the region crucial for India&#8217;s energy security.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Remittance:<\/strong> Remittances from Indian expatriates working in the Gulf contribute significantly to India&#8217;s economy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Remittance is the non-commercial transfer of money by an individual to his\/her home country or family.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Security Cooperation:<\/strong> The Gulf region is strategically important for India&#8217;s security interests, given its location and influence in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Relations with GCC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strategic Partnership: <\/strong>GCC is a major trade and investment partner for India.&nbsp; While India has close economic and political ties with all countries, the strategic partnership exists with only Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Security: <\/strong>The Gulf region fulfilled <strong>55.3% of India\u2019s total crude oil <\/strong>demand in 2022\u201323, compared to 63.9% in 2021\u201322.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, oil imports from Russia have been declining in 2023\u201324, and there are signs that India\u2019s decreasing dependence on Gulf oil is already reversing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade and Investment:<\/strong> The GCC is <strong>India&#8217;s largest regional bloc trading partner.<\/strong> Trade with the GCC comprised <strong>15.8 percent of India&#8217;s total trade in FY2022-23,<\/strong> compared to 11.6 percent of total trade with the European Union.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The UAE has consistently been India\u2019s principal trading partner within the Gulf and is India\u2019s third-largest trading partner overall, with Saudi Arabia in fourth place.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India also has a significant trade deficit with the GCC which is driven by India\u2019s dependence on GCC countries for oil and gas imports.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India\u2019s regional geo-economic focus<\/strong> has driven it to engage with the <strong>I2U2 grouping and to join the India\u2013Middle East\u2013Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The two sides signed an inter-governmental framework agreement on IMEC. However, both initiatives risk being delayed by the Hamas\u2013Israel war.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defence Relations:<\/strong> India\u2019s defense engagements with these countries are gaining significant momentum.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Indian Navy established bilateral exercises with the <strong>UAE in 2018, with Qatar in 2019, and with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2021.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Indian Army held its first exercises with the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2024.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The UAE is becoming India\u2019s key regional defence partner; the <strong>UAE and Oman are the only regional countries <\/strong>with which India holds army, air force and navy exercises.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India and the UAE<\/strong> have started trilateral military cooperation with France, holding a maritime exercise in 2023 and an air-force exercise in 2024.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges Ahead&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The outbreak of the Hamas\u2013Israel war<\/strong> and shipping attacks in the Red Sea directly impact India\u2019s energy security and economic growth.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Yet India remains reluctant to take an active role in the complex politics of the Middle East and is back to its long-standing <strong>balancing act between the Gulf, Iran and Israel.<\/strong> This could become more difficult if the war escalates further.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The war has also impacted the <strong>I2U2 minilateral group,<\/strong> through the continued postponement of a senior-officials meeting since 2023.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has called for economic initiatives such as I2U2 and IMEC to progress despite the conflict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other challenges include <strong>finalising the India\u2013GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA),<\/strong> which was initially delayed due to a change in the GCC\u2019s chief trade negotiator.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The key issue will be reaching an agreement that satisfies all GCC states.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additionally, India must manage diplomatic relations carefully following Islamophobic comments made by Indian officials in 2022.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Any Islamophobic rhetoric from Indian nationals stands in contrast to the growing government-to-government display of religious tolerance between India and the Gulf.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Growing security challenges<\/strong> are sharpening the need for India to become a key \u2018strategic partner\u2019 of the Gulf states and to enlarge its regional presence and influence.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increased strategic convergence spanning political, economic and security interests has resulted in a new framework for India\u2013Gulf relations, which, if successfully maintained, will enhance trust levels and enable cooperation to become more ambitious in scope.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/india\/india-gulf-cooperation-council-adopt-action-plan-for-joint-activities-across-sectors\/articleshow\/113210158.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>ET<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held their inaugural Foreign Ministers meeting in Riyadh, where they adopted a Joint Action Plan for 2024-2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29353"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29370,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29353\/revisions\/29370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}