India army chief embarks on ‘historic’ trip to UAE, Saudi Arabia

Agencies | New Delhi

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

India’s army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane has embarked on an “historic” six-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, the first such visit to the two Gulf countries by the head of the military.

The visit by General Naravane, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), is aimed at “strengthening the country’s strategic and defence cooperation” with the two nations, a statement from the Indian army said on Tuesday, adding that it is an “historic” trip.

India has had historically close economic ties with Gulf nations, as it imports a significant part of its petroleum products from the region.

Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth-largest trading partner after China, the United States and Japan, and a leading source of energy. India imports around 18 per cent of its crude oil requirement from the country.

But in the last few years, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focused on boosting security and defence ties, particularly with the UAE.

“The visit of the army chief to the UAE and Saudi Arabia is in line with New Delhi’s new-found desire to expand its security partnerships with these two countries in particular and the neighbourhood in general,” Happymon Jacob, associate professor of International Studies at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Al Jazeera.

“The decision to have the army chief, rather than the CDS (chief of defence staff) or the NSA (national security adviser), make these visits is intriguing, though,” said Jacob, who is also the author of book Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Dynamics.