Narendra Modi's 'hugplomacy' in troubled West Asian waters

Representational PicPrime Minister Narendra Modis worldwide travels which appeared to lag a little with the advent of President Donald Trump and his own domestic troubles resumed with a bang with visits to four Islamic countries in four days in February For a person of the Prime Ministers reputation and record this was revolutionary No other single journey of his as Prime Minister was so rich in symbolism and practical wisdomThe sight of Modi travelling in a Jordanian helicopter to Palestine with an Israeli air escort was called history in the making by the usually reticent spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs His visit to Ramallah took place just weeks after the triumphant visit to India by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which was by his own admission part of his quest for political power by winning strong friendsAlthough the speech Modi made in Ramallah fell short of restating the traditional Indian position that Israel should withdraw to its 1967 borders and East Jerusalem should be the capital of Palestine his words in support of an independent Palestine state were categorical enough to deserve the highest Palestinian honour conferred upon himThe real significance of the visit is that it happened at a time when all of West Asia is volatile Not to be deterred by the advice of caution Modi took the bull by the horns creating speculation that he could play the role of regional peacemaker instead of Trump who has burnt his boats with the Arab world by declaring Jerusalem as Israels capital But the US President still holds the key to negotiations his soninlaw Jared Kushner is pursuing in collaboration with Saudi Arabia clearly in Israels interestsThe present configuration of relations in West Asia does not permit a fair peace process But India even being considered for a possible role is significant in itself as it recognises New Delhis balanced and realistic position on PalestineModis visit to the UAE had special significance in more ways than one According to a political analyst The last three years of political engagement between the UAE and India has resulted in an upswing of multidimensional strategic collaboration If the past was about oil trade and expatriates the present is about food securityforoil security defence and maritime cooperation teamwork in frontier science and the like Modi hosting the Israeli leadership in New Delhi and visiting Palestine just ahead of the UAE tour reflects the versatility of Indian foreign policy which seeks to balance competing and sometimes contradictory interestsThe UAEIndia Strategic Dialogue under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement was at the centre of the visit the comprehensive Joint Declaration revealed It covered extremism and terrorism security defence and space cooperation energy and climate change people and skill development culture education and tourism and international and regional cooperation Indias concerns about terrorism from one state to another and safe havens found prominent mention in the Declaration It also enigmatically deplored efforts by countries to give religious and sectarian colour to political issuesThis could apply to several sensitive areasThe real highlights of the visit were that India got its first oil concession in the Gulf An ONGC Videshled consortium got a 10 per cent stake out of the 40 per cent available in the Lower Zakum field That translates into roughly 22 million tonnes of crude per year for the next 40 years It also concluded the strategic petroleum reserve agreement under which India will soon have six million barrels of UAE crude in our caverns in Mangalore as UAE Ambassador Navdeep Suri put itAlso significant was DP Worlds decision to set up a major inland container terminal in Jammu and Kashmir As Suri put it Apart from the obvious benefit of improving logistics connectivity for JampK the message from a UAE investment into JampK is significantTo this could be added a historic agreement which will enable businesses on both sides to bypass the US dollar or any other foreign currency and trade directly in UAE dirhams and the Indian rupee The agreement will mean large savings for business communities on both sides as trade between the UAE and India soars to new highsClearly the UAE visit showed that the trajectory of relations marked by frequent highlevel visits is assuming the nature of a model for countries with different beliefs and political systems caught in the tumultuous world of today The complementarities between them transcend religion regional commitments and other traditional relationships It holds the potential for creating bonds among countries that wish to keep out of the emerging Cold War and build beneficial partnershipsThe Oman visit too was important because the special ties here preceded the new links with the UAE The wideranging discussions covered measures to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment energy defence security food security and regional issues India and Oman signed eight agreements related to defence health and tourismThe signing of a pact between the two countries that will give India a foothold in its extended neighbourhood was a major highlight The Duqm port will act as Indias entry point to the wider West Asia and Eastern Africa a welcome development at a time China has deployed strategic assets in the Indian Ocean RegionThough the visit to Jordan was in transit Modi as an Indian Prime Minister to visit the country after a long gap was warmly welcomed Jordan is key to the peace process in West Asia and Modi did well to reestablish connections at this time a visit that was followed up with a scheduled visit by King Abdullah to India this week And he was received with a hug by Modi who broke protocol to receive him at the airportModi has often been accused of turning his foreign visits into festivals without much substance But his visit to West Asia was well timed well planned and well executedHis hugplomacy happened to be in harmony with Arab tradition unlike in some other cultures where it had appeared inappropriate In symbol and in substance his wading into the troubled waters of West Asia has given the Prime Ministers image a boostTP Sreenivasan is a former Indian Ambassador The article is in special arrangement with South Asia MonitorCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever