Nantoo Banerjee
Few will deny that India is navigating a complex foreign policy balancing ties with countries such as the US, Russia, China, Israel and Iran among others, some of them being known to be arch enemies of each other. India has been leveraging platforms like the BRICS, QUAD and the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that includes Iran and Pakistan. The 11-member BRICS group also has Pakistan and Iran as members. Lately, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified India as a “central pillar” of his proposed “Hexagon” framework which is designed to unite nations against both the “radical Shia axis” (specifically Iran, Hezbollah, and Houthis) and the “emerging radical Sunni axis”.
Interestingly, the official statement after the top-level India-Israel bilateral meeting last week made no reference to Iran. Also, it provided no indication, even remotely, of an imminent Israel-US coordinated attack on Iran although both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli PM Netanyahu jointly condemned cross-border terror, including Pahalgam attack in Kashmir, Delhi’s Red Fort terror attack and deadly Hamas missile attack on an innocent civilian gathering in Israel.
India is being seen by nations as a quick responder in crisis. The country’s position is getting strengthened as a major, independent global power. Suffice it to say that the task is not easy although India is carefully sailing through it. The latest Modi-Netanyahu summit resulted in a host of positive outcomes and building a special strategic partnership, including commitment to the longstanding defence partnership between the two countries. Addressing the Israeli Parliament, Knesset, Modi expressed deepest condolences to the people of Israel for every life lost in the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Modi said countering terrorism requires sustained and coordinated global action, because terror anywhere threatens peace everywhere.
Over the years, Israel has emerged as one of India’s highly important partners in areas such as defence, agriculture, science and technology, and counter-terrorism. The highly positive and intimate Modi-Netanyahu dialogue is unlikely to have escaped the attention of Pakistan and Israel’s primary adversaries in the West Asia region, centred around the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen. These groups, along with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, constitute a multi-front threat aiming to diminish Israeli security.
India’s diplomatic balancing act covers a whole lot of areas. The country has traditionally maintained strong defence and energy ties with Russia, which helped India build its largest nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. The power plant is built in collaboration with Russia’s Rosatom and Atomstroyexport using VVER-1000 reactors. Two units (1 & 2) are operational, with four more (3-6) under construction to reach a 6,000 MW capacity, with fuel for unit 3 recently delivered. At the same time, the country’s technology partnerships with the US are fast growing while it has been managing tense relations with China through diplomatic dialogue and military, economic, and diplomatic engagement. India positions itself as a voice for the Global South, offering development aid to over 150 nations while balancing relationships between developed and developing countries.
In the West Asian region, India has been maintaining critical, simultaneous partnerships with Israel, Iran, and Gulf Arab states. The country scrupulously avoids taking sides in major global conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war, focusing on national interests rather than aligning with power blocs. India is projecting itself as a major, independent global power. With Iran, India has maintained a good relationship. India and Iran are important trade partners. India has been among Iran’s five largest trade partners in recent years. Major Indian exports to Iran include rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals, man made staple fibres, electrical machinery, artificial jewellery etc. In May 2024, India signed a 10-year, US$370-million contract developing Iran’s Chabahar port to operate the Shahid Beheshti terminal. The project offers India a direct trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan, and acts as a key gateway for the International North-South Transport Corridor. Notably, last January, India voted against a UN Human Rights Council resolution condemning the violent suppression of anti-government protests in Iran.
Incidentally, Prime Minister Modi met Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024 where the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral relations. This was their first meeting since President Pezeshkian assumed office in July 2024. Prime Minister Modi had met President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in August 2023 and on the sidelines of the SCO Heads-of-State Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September 2022. In May, 2024, India’s then Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar visited Iran to attend the official ceremony to pay condolences following the demise of President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi.
The two countries have in place several bilateral consultative mechanisms at various levels including the Joint Committee Meeting (JCM), Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), Security Consultations at the level of National Security Advisers and Deputy National Security Advisers, and the Joint Consular Committee Meeting (JCCM). India and Iran also have Joint Working Groups to facilitate cooperation in various sectors of mutual interest. Amid the Israel-Iran conflict, India has carefully chosen a neutral, measured approach, advocating for de-escalation and prioritizing regional stability.
India’s diplomatic trapeze has been able to successfully maintain strong strategic ties with the US and the EU to counter China while simultaneously sustaining deep economic and military ties with Russia, particularly in the energy sector, despite Western pressure. European Union members frequently collaborate with India and Israel on high-tech sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and innovation, which align with broader EU-India strategic goals. Good India-Russia ties have not impacted India-EU trade, economic and diplomatic relations. Countering China has been a tough task. India is continuously trying to enhance its defence diplomacy in Southeast Asia and strengthening QUAD partnerships in response to Chinese assertiveness in the region. The country is leveraging its position to represent the interests of developing nations, focusing on becoming a voice for the Global South while maintaining its own economic growth.
However, India faces challenges in its immediate neighbourhood, including tense relations with Pakistan, regime changes in Bangladesh and Nepal and growing Chinese military and diplomatic influence on them, testing its “security-first” approach. Despite rising to a “geopolitical powerhouse” in 2026 the country remains vulnerable to global economic shocks. India needs to urgently accelerate its technological and manufacturing self-reliance to maintain this balancing act. (IPA Service)
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