India’s West Asian Diplomacy

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, was in Delhi on February 17-18 on a State Visit. This was his second State Visit to India; his first was in 2015. The first was at the invitation of the then President, Pranab Mukherjee, while on this occasion, the invitation was extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was indicative of the personal relationship that has developed between Sheikh Tamim and Modi, because traditional protocol demands that an invitation for a State Visit to a Head of State is extended by his counterpart.

Modi also demonstrated his regard for Sheikh Tamim by receiving him personally at the airport. This was a rare gesture which emphasized the special bond between the two. Modi messaged on the social media platform X, after receiving Sheikh Tamim at the airport, “Went to the airport to welcome my brother, Amir of Qatar, H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Wishing him a fruitful stay in India and looking forward to our meeting tomorrow”. These words also reflected Modi’s feeling for Sheikh Tamim.

Naturally, all the honours and ceremonies that are part of India’s protocol during a State Visit were undertaken for Sheikh Tamim. These included a ceremonial welcome in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan where President Droupadi Murmu welcomed Sheikh Tamim. She also hosted and a banquet in honour of the guest. State Visits are the highest form of inter-state visits and while a country can go beyond its prescribed protocol for such visits it cannot dilute it for that would be taken as a slight by the guest.

The ceremonials of a State Visit do not prevent them from becoming occasions for negotiations and diplomacy to upgrade ties or to resolve bilateral issues. This was so during Sheikh Tamim’s visit too. Apart from a discussion on bilateral ties Modi and the Qatari Emir discussed the situation in West Asia which has been particularly impacted by the announcements of President Donald Trump on Gaza. Qatar, along with Egypt, has been active in mediating between Israel and Hamas since the beginning of Israel’s military action in response to the latter’s attack on the former on October 7, 2023. That led to the deaths of 1200 Israelis and nationals of some other countries and around 250 hostages were also taken by Hamas to Gaza. Israel’s response devastated Gaza and caused over 46000 deaths. Israel and Hamas are now proceeding to implement their ceasefire agreement which also involves the release of hostages and of Palestinians in Israeli custody. The ceasefire agreement proposes a second phase but Trump’s plan for Gaza has added an imponderable to the entire process underway between Israel and Hamas.

It is noteworthy that the India-Qatar Joint Statement is remarkably reticent on this aspect. It states: “The two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including the security situation in the Middle East. They emphasized the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for peaceful resolution of international disputes”. The second sentence, in diplomatic terms, is nothing more than the American expression ‘motherhood and apple pie’. It is particularly significant that neither country was willing to make their views known on Trump’s plan even though generally no Arab country has endorsed it. Indeed, no Arab state would be willing to create enclaves for the Palestinians. Hence, it is difficult to see what would be Trump’s next steps regarding the plan.

The Joint Statement spelt out an ambitious programme for enhancing across the board bilateral cooperation. It noted: “In light of the newly established Strategic Partnership, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the bilateral relations through regular and structured cooperation in all areas, including political, trade, investment, security, energy, culture, education, technology, innovation, sustainability and people-to-people ties. In this regard, the two sides expressed happiness at the signing of the revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and also agreed to expedite negotiations on the India-Qatar Bilateral Investment Treaty”. Energy forms the most important component of India-Qatar trade relations. It will be interesting to see how India pursues its energy diplomacy in the coming months and years because of US pressures to by more hydrocarbons from the US.

It seems that the difficulties created in the bilateral ties on account of the conviction and sentencing of retired Indian naval personnel working for a company which was providing services to the Qatari navy are now over. One retired naval officer is still to return to India but, it has been reported that his departure from Qatar has been delayed because of another case and not the espionage one. It also seems that the unhappiness in Qatar by some intemperate comments by a ruling party spokesperson is also a matter of the past. This has cleared the path for the relationship moving on an upward trajectory.

The Joint Statement noted that Qatar announced a commitment to invest US$ 10 billion in India. On its part India “recognized Qatar’s growing role as a regional hub for goods and services, leveraging its strategic location, world-class infrastructure, and business-friendly policies”. The main entrepôt of the Gulf region is Dubai. India has excellent relations with the UAE and there is no doubt that it would watch if India’s entrepot trade begins to be diverted to Qatar. Competition between Dubai and Qatar for entrepot trade will naturally be good for Indian companies.

India would also have been pleased that Qatar accepted the inclusion of a formulation in the Joint Statement denouncing terrorism. It noted “The two leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism and agreed to cooperate in combating this menace through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms”.

All in all, Sheikh Tamim’s visit was timely for India’s West Asian diplomacy.