External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday said that India's approach towards West Asia is guided by its deep and distinct relationships with all key stakeholders in the region, including the United States, Iran, Israel and the Gulf countries.
Speaking about India's evolving foreign policy under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an interview with DD News, EAM Jaishankar said New Delhi's interests today are far broader and more extensive compared to the previous era and that the country's diplomatic engagement, conduct and outlook naturally reflect those expanding interests.
“Our interests are much bigger and much more spread out than in the earlier eras. So, when your interests are much deeper, then naturally our engagement, our behaviour, and our attitude reflect that. I'll give you an example. Let's take what is currently happening in the Gulf.
So, you have essentially four parties. I'm simplifying it a bit. So, there is the US, there is Iran, there is Israel, and there is, for the sake of the argument, putting the Gulf together as a single party, though they are different,” the EAM stated. “Now, just look at it from our point of view today as opposed to how we may have approached it hypothetically before.
Today, we have a very, very deep interest with all these four parties. I will actually start from where we have the deepest interest, which is the Gulf. When you have 10 million of our citizens living there, when it is so close to you, so connected to you, when it is your primary source of energy, when it is one of your key trade partners, then obviously your stakes are tremendous," he added.
EAM Jaishankar said that in dealing with a complex situation like the West Asia conflict after February 28, it was not a case of coming to a diplomatic conference and reconciling differences by taking a middle position. India, he noted, had sharp practical interests and deep stakes with each of the Gulf countries.
"At the same time, you also have a relationship with Iran; Iran was a significant energy partner till their sanctions prevented them from remaining in the market in an effective way. It is a country where we have a significant intersection of interest, which we have demonstrated elsewhere,” he added.
Stressing the breadth of India’s partnership with other stakeholders, EAM Jaishankar said that New Delhi also places great importance on its ties with the United States and Israel. “So, you also want to safeguard that, and then there is the United States.
I do not have to tell you what the importance of that relationship is, and then there is Israel, which has actually been a very strong security partner and technology partner in very critical areas, which has stood by us at very important times,” EAM stated. “So, what happens today is, when people compare today's era, 2026, with the 1950s or 60s, I think they are basically missing the point.
In the 50s and 60s, you did not have this kind of major stake in each of these accounts. So, I have to today deal with this issue, I as India, as Bharat, keeping in mind each one of these relationships. Obviously, there is a prioritisation because the four accounts are not necessarily equal,” he highlighted.