For decades, India’s engagement with the Gulf rested on a narrow, transactional foundation—oil in, remittances out, and diplomacy confined to ceremonial courtesy. Strategic depth was limited, political trust was cautious, and security cooperation remained largely off the table. That conservative grammar of foreign policy, rooted in post-Independence non-alignment and ideological balancing, has been decisively rewritten under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The recent visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, was not another routine stopover. It was a signal moment in a broader geopolitical shift—one that reflects India’s transition from a hesitant interlocutor to a confident, agenda-setting power in West Asia and beyond.
India’s early foreign policy tradition prized distance over depth. The Nehruvian framework sought moral authority and global balance, often at the cost of hard strategic partnerships. While this posture preserved diplomatic flexibility, it also left India on the margins of key regional power equations, particularly in the Gulf, which was seen primarily as an energy supplier rather than a strategic partner.
Modi’s doctrine has inverted that logic. National interest, economic ambition, and security cooperation now drive diplomacy. The emphasis is not on ideological posturing, but on measurable outcomes—trade volumes, defence collaboration, technological partnerships, and people-to-people influence. Personal diplomacy has become a strategic tool, not a ceremonial flourish.
The contrast is visible in India’s global positioning. Modi’s ability to engage leaders across geopolitical divides—from hosting Vladimir Putin during a period of intense Western pressure to deepening strategic comfort with Gulf monarchies—reflects a policy of strategic autonomy in practice, not just in principle. India today does not hedge. It engages.
At the core of the Modi–Sheikh Mohamed dialogue was a hard metric that underlines the scale of transformation: bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed $100 billion. Both leaders expressed confidence in doubling this figure by 2032—a target that moves the relationship from ambition to institutional commitment.
The UAE’s decision to permit two UAE-based companies to establish operations in Gujarat’s GIFT City is not a symbolic gesture. It is a vote of confidence in India’s financial architecture and regulatory stability. It also aligns with New Delhi’s larger vision of positioning India as a global financial, fintech, and innovation hub—one that competes, rather than merely participates.
Strategic relationships are ultimately measured in the language of security, not statements. The two leaders’ discussions on expanding defence industrial collaboration, joint training for special forces, and broader security coordination reflect a level of comfort that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
On regional flashpoints, both sides condemned cross-border terrorism and exchanged views on developments in Yemen and Gaza—signalling a convergence of perspectives on regional stability. The UAE’s explicit support for India’s chairmanship of BRICS further reinforces the notion that New Delhi is now viewed as a serious stakeholder in shaping global and regional power structures.
The decision to establish a “House of India” in Abu Dhabi—complete with a state-of-the-art museum showcasing India’s civilisational heritage—demonstrates Modi’s understanding of culture as a strategic asset. With the UAE hosting the largest Indian diaspora in the world, this initiative strengthens India’s influence at the grassroots level of Gulf societies, not just in presidential palaces.
Yet the partnership is equally anchored in the technologies of the future. Cooperation in advanced nuclear technologies—including large reactors, small modular reactors, and nuclear safety systems—positions India and the UAE as collaborators in next-generation energy security.
Artificial Intelligence and digital infrastructure have emerged as parallel pillars. Plans for a UAE-supported supercomputing cluster in India, expanded data centre investments, and even the exploration of a “digital embassy” concept reflect a relationship that is no longer confined to trade and oil, but extends into strategic technology and data sovereignty. The UAE’s commitment to participate at a high level in India’s Artificial Intelligence Summit in February 2026 reinforces this forward-looking alignment.
Modi’s acknowledgment of the UAE’s role in safeguarding the interests of the Indian diaspora highlights another dimension of his foreign policy: people as instruments of influence. Millions of Indians in the Gulf are no longer seen merely as a workforce abroad, but as living bridges of economic, cultural, and political trust.
This diaspora diplomacy has quietly strengthened India’s regional leverage, embedding Indian interests into the social and economic fabric of key Gulf states.
What emerges from the UAE President’s visit is a broader geopolitical narrative. India is no longer content to be a reactive power navigating between global blocs. It is shaping agendas, building coalitions, and asserting its role in a multipolar world.
The political slogan “Modi hai to mumkin hai” has found a diplomatic echo. From energy corridors to digital infrastructure, from BRICS to the Global South, India’s leadership is increasingly perceived as decisive rather than deferential.
In an international system marked by fractured alliances and shifting power centres, trust has become a rare and valuable currency. Modi’s foreign policy—grounded in strategic clarity, personal diplomacy, and unapologetic national interest—has made trust India’s most potent asset.
The UAE President’s visit underscores a relationship that has evolved from transactional engagement to strategic alignment. More importantly, it signals a larger shift: India is no longer merely adapting to the global order. It is actively helping shape it.
