18/08/2020 - International Relations

KEY POINTS

·         Pakistan has been angry with UAE’s invitation to India to address the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in early 2019 and the reluctance of Saudi Arabia to convene a meeting to condemn Indian actions in Kashmir.

·         Pakistan’s foreign minister threatened earlier this month to convene a meeting of foreign ministers of Islamic nations, outside of the OIC, to attack India’s Kashmir policy.

·         Both Turkey and Iran now intervene with impunity in the internal affairs of the Arab world. Two other states have joined this Great Game. Arab Qatar, which is locked in a fraternal fight with the Saudis and the Emiratis, wants to carve out an outsized role for itself in the Middle East.

·         In the interim, the threat to align with Turkey and Iran serves as an instrument to put pressure on the Saudis and Emiratis. Delhi must go back to the deepest source of regional policy — unflinching support for Arab sovereignty. That, in turn, expresses itself in five principles.

·         First, resist the temptation of telling the Arabs what is good for them. Support their efforts to reconcile with non-Arab neighbours, including Israel, Turkey and Iran.

·         Second, oppose foreign interventions in the Arab world. In the past, those came from the West and Israel. Most Arabs see the greatest threat to their security from Turkish and Iranian interventions.

·         Extend support to Arab economic integration, intra-Arab political reconciliation and the strengthening of regional institutions.

·         Recognise that India’s geopolitical interests are in close alignment with those in the moderate Arab Centre — including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman.

India can’t be passive amidst the unfolding geopolitical realignment in West Asia. Some members of the incipient alliance  Turkey, Malaysia and China  have been the most vocal in challenging India’s territorial sovereignty in Kashmir. 

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