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Showing posts with the label Indian Middle East relations

India’s Middle East Policy Gathers Momentum ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Kabir Taneja)

Image credits- MEA Photo Gallery, Government of India Source- The Diplomat Author- Kabir Taneja Much of India’s foreign policy, even today, is based on the fundamentals laid down by the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. India’s place in the world and the policies that have shaped its global personality as a nation are based on Nehru’s ideals, which were sacrosanct until the Indo-China war of 1962 offered a perspective based on realism, rather than idealism. Nehru was genuinely fond of driving India’s foreign policy, just like Manmohan Singh and now Narendra Modi have been. However, Nehru’s play in extending India’s hand of friendship and cooperation in the Middle East and Persian Gulf (more commonly known in India as West Asia) was a masterstroke, the benefits of which India reaps in the region even today. India’s influence post-independence in the region started with the rapport that Nehru ended up building with the former Egyptian President Gamal