Why India faces dilemma over Iran war while seeking ‘diplomatic flexibility’
India has to carefully navigate the fallout from the war, given its huge stakes in the Middle East, analysts say
Harsh V. Pant, vice-president for studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank, said India had so far handled the situation well and needed to keep communication channels open with all sides, given the “growing fragmentation” between Iran and the Arab states.
“India has to carefully navigate this [war situation], because its equities in Arab states are quite high. It has a huge diaspora, big trade and investment relationship,” Pant said. In the near term, Delhi’s focus would be to ensure that its ships did not get struck in the Strait of Hormuz, he added.
About 14 per cent of India’s exports to Gulf countries pass through the strategic waterway, while funds sent back home by nearly 10 million Indian workers in the Middle East account for 40 per cent of overall remittances annually, according to Goldman Sachs.