Michael Kugelman, Atlantic Council's Senior Fellow for the South Asia region, comments on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman. He says it is important for the Indian government to show its clout and engagements.

New Delhi

Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to Ethiopia, Jordan, and Oman underscores India's efforts to reinforce longstanding relationships and expand its influence beyond major powers such as the U.S., Russia, and China. The analyst notes that these ties are particularly important as India seeks to bolster commercial partnerships and navigate uncertainties in its global relationships.

India's evolving economic strategy includes moving away from protectionism, pursuing free trade agreements, and deepening engagement with both large and smaller partners. The country is now recognized as a top five global economy and is increasingly seen by others in the global south as a facilitator of economic development, similar to China's role in recent decades.

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A lot's been made about this three-nation visit of Prime Minister Modi. He did say this as trying to hold up ancient ties with the three nations that he's visiting. But what makes this particular three-nation tour particularly interesting or significant, especially in this day and age? Well, you know, there's been so much focus of late on India's relations with the big powers, with the U.S., with Russia, with China. But India is a country that, you know, is a rising power. And there it is a power, but it's trying to go beyond that to become an even greater power than it is. And it's important for the Indian government to showcase the country's clout and its engagement. And in that sense, it's important for the Indian government to strengthen its ties with countries across the board, including in the Middle East and in the global south. And with these three countries, Ethiopia is probably one of India's closest friends in the global south. Jordan is one of its closest partners in the Middle East, along with Oman. And at the moment when there's a lot of geopolitical churn in the world, and India is facing uncertainties in its relations with the U.S., I think the opportunity to bolster commercial ties with some of its longstanding partners in the global south is an important opportunity. Yeah, bolstering some of these ties right now is also happening as a backdrop of a lot of these tariffs that India is trying to at least trying to offset or manage at the moment. One thing you've noted also was, you know, the fact that they are trying to bolster their positioning with regards to geopolitical positioning. And I can't help but think of a parallel with regards to China over the last couple of decades being seen as a more important geopolitical ally or a facilitator of economic development. Is India being viewed in the same vein more and more now by countries like Ethiopia or say others in the global south as being a possible conduit or facilitator of economic development the way China has growingly so in the last couple of decades? Well, I mean, China is certainly more entrenched economically in the world than India is. I would argue that in certain parts of the world, particularly, for example, Latin America, you know, India is not as economically present as China is. But that said, I think India has made a lot of progress. I mean, India is a top five economy in the world these days. And of course, it is now the most populous country in the world, which says something about its economic clout as well. And you know, India has made significant levels of headway. And one change we've seen with India in recent years is that it has moved beyond the protectionist stance that it has historically taken. It's looking to bolster free trade. It's looking to pursue more free trade agreements. It's probably going to be reaching a major FTA deal with the EU in the coming weeks. But for now, as you noted before, it's also looking to deepen trade ties with some of its smaller partners, including Oman, where we can expect a trade deal to be reached. So absolutely, I think that India is certainly an economic, a global economic power to be reckoned with, top five economy in the world. And I think that this is something that countries around the world appreciate, and they are keen to engage more commercially, economically with New Delhi.

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