“In a letter to India’s PM, Mohamed bin Zayed expresses thanks for the kind invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations”, adding, in a second tweet: “Our strong relations are deeply rooted in history; our strategic cooperation has increased, driven by our mutual aspirations to develop it.”
While such mutual acknowledgements and appreciations are nothing new, what is new is the freshness and vibrancy in a relationship that had been allowed to sink into a sense of indifference and apathy. This applies not just to the UAE, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited in August 2015 (reciprocated by Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed in February 2016), but to virtually all the other countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
Much of the fault lies on the side of past Indian governments. Note, for instance, that the last visit to the UAE before that of Modi was in 1981 by Indira Gandhi.
This is the sort of inattention paid to a country that happens to be one of our largest trading partners (nearly $60 billion in two-way trade in 2014-2015), and where over a million Indian expatriates reside (out of more than 2 million in the GCC as a whole).
Things are changing, and fast. There are a number of reasons for this, and one cannot give all the kudos to the current government. But it must be credited with recognising the opportunities and grasping them with vigour.
Relations with virtually every GCC country is on the fast track – namely, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. And they have taken a very robust strategic dimension; defence related engagements have picked up across the board, and it would be fair to say that the GCC now views India as a net security provider in the Arabian Sea, as a trusted partner in those waters.
What is becoming clear is that India is now beginning to ease into an enhanced defence engagement with these countries bilaterally. This is, again, not something new in that the momentum has been building for years. But now the geo-political environment is primed for a much closer partnership. Consider these realities:
Iran is now out of the woods, and back in the good books of the US (relatively speaking). This changes the regional dynamics significantly, given that the GCC states are either in an antagonistic posture with Tehran, or managing a very delicate balancing act.
The US seems to gradually disengaging from the region, from a strategic perspective, or so it would appear to those who have observed President Obama’s reluctance to engage with the GCC quite as intensively as they might have liked (considering especially Washington’s Iranian outreach).
Pakistan, long a reliable supplier of soldiers for rent to the GCC countries, has of late developed a distaste for overseas deployments of its men in uniform. At a time of need, when the GCC countries requested Islamabad to support them in their military campaign in Yemen, Pakistan refused. From the Gulf rulers’ point of view, that refusal showed an untrustworthiness that will be hard to ignore.
In all the above cases, India can be a force of positivity for the GCC states. A long-standing relationship of trust and loyalty with Iran means New Delhi can be an effective go-between in the event the relationship between Tehran and the Gulf countries deteriorate.
The US, having carefully observed India’s role in the region and having dramatically expanded its own relationship with New Delhi, is happy to have a responsible power shouldering some of the security management burdens in the strategically vital area between the Strait of Hormuz and the Horn of Africa, at the mouth of the Red Sea.
As for Pakistan, it will surprise no one that the GCC states are well aware that their strengthening ties with India are bound to make Islamabad extremely uncomfortable. From their point of view, considering Islamabad’s posture on Yemen, that is a happy by-product (not the objective) of a natural growth in the content and sophistication of their engagement with New Delhi.
As India’s economy grows and as the commercial linkages with the GCC develop in quantity and quality, we can be certain that military co-operation will expand apace.
The UAE and India have already instituted a $75 billion India Infrastructure Fund. Undoubtedly, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will join the fray in a comparable way. It is not inconceivable that, within the next decade, India could have security agreements with these countries that will envisage a protective role.
The Modi government has hit the ground running in terms of its relationship with the GCC states, and is now sprinting ahead. The invitation to Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is a harbinger of much more to come.
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[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]2021 WEF Global Gender Gap report, which confirmed its 2016 finding of a decline in worldwide progress towards gender parity.
Over 2.8 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. As many as 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and it is astonishing that a handful of countries still allow husbands to legally stop their wives from working.
Globally, women’s participation in the labour force is estimated at 63% (as against 94% of men who participate), but India’s is at a dismal 25% or so currently. Most women are in informal and vulnerable employment—domestic help, agriculture, etc—and are always paid less than men.
Recent reports from Assam suggest that women workers in plantations are paid much less than men and never promoted to supervisory roles. The gender wage gap is about 24% globally, and women have lost far more jobs than men during lockdowns.
The problem of gender disparity is compounded by hurdles put up by governments, society and businesses: unequal access to social security schemes, banking services, education, digital services and so on, even as a glass ceiling has kept leadership roles out of women’s reach.
Yes, many governments and businesses had been working on parity before the pandemic struck. But the global gender gap, defined by differences reflected in the social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments or attitudes of men and women, will not narrow in the near future without all major stakeholders working together on a clear agenda—that of economic growth by inclusion.
The WEF report estimates 135 years to close the gap at our current rate of progress based on four pillars: educational attainment, health, economic participation and political empowerment.
India has slipped from rank 112 to 140 in a single year, confirming how hard women were hit by the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two Asian countries that fared worse.
Here are a few things we must do:
One, frame policies for equal-opportunity employment. Use technology and artificial intelligence to eliminate biases of gender, caste, etc, and select candidates at all levels on merit. Numerous surveys indicate that women in general have a better chance of landing jobs if their gender is not known to recruiters.
Two, foster a culture of gender sensitivity. Take a review of current policies and move from gender-neutral to gender-sensitive. Encourage and insist on diversity and inclusion at all levels, and promote more women internally to leadership roles. Demolish silos to let women grab potential opportunities in hitherto male-dominant roles. Work-from-home has taught us how efficiently women can manage flex-timings and productivity.
Three, deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the education and skilling of women and girls at the bottom of the pyramid. CSR allocations to toilet building, the PM-Cares fund and firms’ own trusts could be re-channelled for this.
Four, get more women into research and development (R&D) roles. A study of over 4,000 companies found that more women in R&D jobs resulted in radical innovation. It appears women score far higher than men in championing change. If you seek growth from affordable products and services for low-income groups, women often have the best ideas.
Five, break barriers to allow progress. Cultural and structural issues must be fixed. Unconscious biases and discrimination are rampant even in highly-esteemed organizations. Establish fair and transparent human resource policies.
Six, get involved in local communities to engage them. As Michael Porter said, it is not possible for businesses to sustain long-term shareholder value without ensuring the welfare of the communities they exist in. It is in the best interest of enterprises to engage with local communities to understand and work towards lowering cultural and other barriers in society. It will also help connect with potential customers, employees and special interest groups driving the gender-equity agenda and achieve better diversity.