India’s political ties with the Gulf region may be strained over insulting remarks made by members of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Prophet Muhammad, but the jury is out on whether tensions will impact the economic relationship that has evolved to new heights in recent years.
Bilateral trade between Asia’s third-largest economy and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – increased significantly in the financial year ending March 2022, topping $150bn according to government data. India’s exports to the Gulf were nearly $44bn, up 58 percent from the previous year, and it imported close to $111bn from the region, an 85 percent jump.
