As Gulf states reassess their security frameworks and diversify partnerships, New Delhi faces a strategic window to consolidate its influence across an increasingly contested West Asian landscape
After the ceasefire was announced, New Delhi stepped up its diplomatic engagement with Gulf countries. Recently, India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, visited the United Arab Emirates to review and reaffirm the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. At the same time, New Delhi expanded its outreach to other Gulf countries. India’s Petroleum Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, visited Qatar on an official trip, where he held talks with Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, focusing on strengthening energy cooperation and ensuring stable supplies of LNG to India.
India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, meanwhile, held a virtual discussion with Trade Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi of Saudi Arabia and engaged with key partners across the Gulf Cooperation Council. Discussions focused on addressing supply chain disruptions caused by the regional crisis, strengthening trade ties and advancing negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership under the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement.
In addition, on April 19, 2026, India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, visited Saudi Arabia and held high-level talks with the Saudi leadership on regional instability, energy security, maritime safety and intelligence coordination, highlighting India’s integrated strategic and economic outreach to the Gulf amid the unfolding crisis.
The greater outreach on part of new Delhi represents a calculated strategy aimed at protecting energy security, safeguarding economic interests and strengthening ties with key Gulf partners amid a volatile regional environment.
Engagement during the Crisis
During the crisis New Delhi was in regular contact with the leadership of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, condemning attacks on their infrastructure and reiterating its support for their sovereignty and territorial integrity. It sustained engagement through phone calls and virtual exchanges, keeping communication channels active even at the height of the crisis.
A significant part of this outreach was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rapid and extensive diplomatic engagement with leaders of the Gulf, including Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as other regional partners, highlighting both the urgency of the evolving crisis and India’s attempts to utilize multiple bilateral channels to navigate an interconnected regional security environment. The high-level conversations reflected India’s immediate concern with regional escalation, the safety of its large diaspora in the Gulf and the stability of critical energy and maritime routes. Throughout all these exchanges, India repeatedly stressed the importance of de-escalation, regional stability and the protection of global energy flows.
India was also a co-sponsor of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2817, which condemned Iran’s “egregious” missile and drone strikes on Gulf countries, called for an immediate halt to hostilities and reaffirmed their sovereignty and territorial integrity – further underscoring India’s diplomatic stance. Moreover, in a recent meeting with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the significance of freedom of navigation and said, “safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains our foremost priority”. He highlighted its critical importance for regional and global stability as part of India’s wider Indo-Pacific and West Asia policy stance, particularly in the context of safeguarding energy security, ensuring the uninterrupted flow of global trade, and strengthening a rules-based maritime order.
Reinforcing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
The UAE and India have a strong and multi-faceted partnership. These bonds have only grown stronger in recent years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This momentum was further reinforced during the recent visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India which, although brief, was substantive and led to the signing of a number of agreements. Among these, the Letter of Intent on Strategic Defence Partnership is a major development that is expected to shape India-UAE relations in the near future.
The Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the UAE soon after the ceasefire was declared was particularly significant in this context, showing India’s support at a critical juncture. The visit was an opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation and talk about the changing regional situation, particularly regarding energy security and stability in the region. UAE was one of the most affected in the conflict with massive physical and reputational damage. Thousands of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones hit infrastructure, energy facilities and civilian areas, causing loss of life and massive disruption. India’s outreach to the UAE was thus particularly timely and significant in this context.
A Recalibrating Gulf and India’s Strategic Opportunity
Importantly, as the ceasefire is holding, Gulf countries are rethinking their security frameworks after facing sustained attacks from Iran. This conflict has changed their security calculus and exposed weaknesses in existing arrangements. Although the United States remains a key partner for these countries, it is increasingly clear that these countries are seeking to diversify their strategic partnerships. But this diversification is not just about security, it is part of a broader recalibration to strengthen economic, technological and infrastructural engagement, enhance the protection of critical energy and logistics infrastructure and extend ties with multiple global partners.
In this case, New Delhi needs to step up its engagement with the region. Its consistent diplomatic and economic engagement with this region is viewed increasingly as a stabilizing force that contributes to regional partnerships’ predictability and balance, and its role as a reliable energy partner and source of skilled human capital all contribute to its attractiveness. Its increasing political, economic and strategic importance makes it a key partner in this changing landscape. It already has a strong, well-established relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council states, especially with close partners such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but it needs to further broaden its engagement as these countries adapt to new regional realities.
As external players such as China, Pakistan and others move quickly to expand their footprint in the region amid shifting alignments, New Delhi has an opportunity and strategic imperative to be more proactive. Unlike these powers whose engagement is often driven by narrow geopolitical or strategic interests, India does not have any malign intent in the region, enhancing its credibility as a trusted and stabilizing partner. It has inherent strengths in the region to build on too. It must therefore leverage its existing goodwill and multi-tiered partnerships to strengthen and expand its strategic footprint, increasing engagement in the economic, technological and security spheres before the space becomes congested.
