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A new challenge in the Gulf

Old cultural ties bind India and the Gulf. Theres a tendency in India to underesti-mate its soft power.
Last Updated 05 February 2012, 17:45 IST

Despite the familiar rhetoric of age-old ties and the need to strengthen Indo-GCC relations in energy and regional security matters, India has been outsmarted by Turkey and China in both the sectors in the Gulf.

Participating in the GCC summit in Riyadh on December 19-20, India’s national security adviser Shiv Shankar Menon had said India could be a strategic partner of the Gulf countries both in strengthening regional security and harnessing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. But, late last month, the outcome of the summit was a setback for India. China wrapped up a deal on the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, while Turkey pre-empted New Delhi by winning multi-million dollar projects in the fields of construction and development of SMEs (small and medium enterprises), among others.

Strategic partner

How these countries pulled the rug from under India’s feet was explained by Mohammed Al-Adil, director of the Ankara-based Turkish-Arab Institute for Studies. “Turkey realises that Saudi Arabia is a big influential player with huge respect among Muslims. Therefore, Turkey views Saudi Arabia as an indispensable strategic partner…I would like to say that Turkey’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC is conditioned by a strategic vision. This can lead to an alliance with Turkey that can enhance the security and stability in the region as a whole.”

Turkey, which had for decades banned the use of Arabic and loudspeakers in mosques under its ultra secular constitution, is warming up to the Gulf countries in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, which brought down the dictators in West Asia and raised Turkey’s profile as an emerging economy with its political clout that Iran cannot ignore.

This aspect will come to the fore again when pro-Islamist Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the GCC-Turkey Business Forum in Istanbul on February 6 and 7. The Federation of GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FGCC Chambers) and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchange of Turkey (TOBB) are jointly organising the event with the support of the Turkish ministry of industry and commerce.

In another development, Saudi Arabia and China signed an agreement in Riyadh last month for cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The signing ceremony was attended by King Abdullah and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

By joining the list of participants who ‘also spoke’ at the Gulf summit, India has shown that its Gulf diplomacy is geared more towards the member states than towards Saudi Arabia, the trend setter in the GCC—a mistake that China has scrupulously avoided and now Turkey is following suit. Also, both countries have kept safe distance from Israel, to which the Gulf countries are allergic.

This point is also underlined by Dubai-based Indian journalist Omar Shariff, who observes: “Instead of cosying up to Israel and antagonising its traditional friends in the Arab world, India must capitalise on its huge diaspora in the Gulf, which has contributed immensely to its development. The large, sophisticated economies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE offer Indian companies tremendous opportunities in sectors such as technology, construction and finance. Old cultural ties bind India and the Gulf.

There’s a tendency in India to underestimate its soft power. Bollywood, for instance, is wildly popular throughout the Arab world. It is in India’s interest to ensure that this cultural affinity translates into more mutually-beneficial economic and strategic ties.”
Here, the US, whose bilateral trade with the kingdom, had plunged in the aftermath of 9/11, has relied on cultural diplomacy to turn the tide in its favour. It has organised food festival, comedy night and arts exhibition featuring the works of both Saudi and American artistes. The US Art Show, held in Riyadh last month, included exhibits like “The Door of the Kaaba” by Soha Alzaid, “The Pocket of the Holy Kaaba” from the era of Sultan Mohammad and David’s View (1989) to be on the same wavelength. 

India could deploy its IT power, especially in the field of telecommuting for Saudi business women. Such a move would gain momentum if new applications could be demonstrated at a women’s exhibition for prospective entrepreneurs—an emerging trend in Saudi Arabia. It’s an idea whose time has come, since Saudi women own some 40 per cent of family- run companies. They have close to 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) in local bank deposits, reports Bloomberg (Nov.8, 2011). Let there be a paradigm shift on the diplomatic front.

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(Published 05 February 2012, 17:45 IST)

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