India’s Look West Policy for UPSC - Know Its Agenda, Current Status, Advantages And More!

Launched in 2005, India's Look West policy aims to deepen engagement with West Asia. This is driven by energy security needs, counter-terrorism cooperation, economic integration, and strategic partnerships. It prioritizes ties with Gulf nations, Israel, and Iran, focusing on energy deals, defense alliances, and cultural exchanges. It also navigates complex regional dynamics and seeks to balance its traditional partnerships with Russia and the US.

India’s Look West Policy is one of the important topics for the UPSC IAS Exam. It also covers a significant part of the International relation subject in the General Studies paper-2 syllabus.

In this article, let us look at India’s look west policy, its agenda, advantages and challenges, current status, and the way forward UPSC IAS Exam.

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What is the Look West Policy of India?

The Look West Policy of India is a strategy adopted by India to strengthen its relations with Arab nations, Iran, and Israel. It aims to promote economic, political, and cultural ties with these countries. It also aims to enhance cooperation in various fields such as trade, energy, security, and technology. The policy seeks to deepen India's engagement with the countries in the western region to foster mutual understanding, collaboration, and regional stability.

Agenda for India’s Look West Policy

Beijing has outdone India in securing a tight connection with West Asia to develop a good economic integration with Pakistan and the Gulf nations. Fast-forwarding free trade dealings with the Gulf Coordination Council (GCC), solving obstacles to economic cooperation with Pakistan, and lifting India’s business profile in Africa must top the ‘Look West’ agenda. India must focus on all issues, from energy security to counter-terrorism in its western neighbourhood.

The elements of the agenda include the following:

Independent approach to the area

• India’s interests in the area stand on their own. An ‘independent foreign policy’ is often specified as merely opposing Washington.
• As long as the US remains the supreme power shaping the region, India must try to increase regional cooperation with the US, where the interests converge and reduce the after-effects when they diverge.

Dedication to omnidirectional engagement

• Serious internal inconsistencies beset the arc of the crisis. Given their multiple interests in the Middle East, great powers do not take sides between Arabs and Israel or the Shia and Sunni unless necessary.
• India, too, must shed its former ideological procedure and concentrate on the involvement of all sides.

Steady diplomatic outreach

• India must expand bilateral visits to these countries for enhanced cooperation.

Leveraging the Islamic link

• India’s ties with Western neighbors comprise cultural, political, economic, and religious aspects.
• If India had the political imagination, the Indian Muslim community could have become a powerful force in India’s ‘Look West’ policy rather than being seen as a political entity.

Centrality of Pakistan

• Normalizing dealings with Pakistan is the key to a fruitful ‘Look West’ policy, whether in obtaining overland access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, ensuring India’s energy security, widening ties with the Gulf, or constraining terrorism.

Commitment to stability in Afghanistan

• Preventing the instability of Kabul by the Taliban is one of India’s national security priorities.
• With sinking Pak-Afghan links, India confronts tension in upgrading ties with Pakistan and bolstering the Karzai regime.
• India has to take action for trilateral political and economic cooperation, encouraging Islamabad and Kabul to limit their conflict.

Accelerating economic integration

• The success of the Look-East Policy brought about increased trade and economic dealings.
• The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, had empowered the External Affairs Ministry to commence negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to conclude an India-GCC Free Trade Agreement.
• Negotiations with member countries of GCC, namely, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, for a comprehensive economic cooperation deal covering the services sector and investment was also approved.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

• The GCC was formed in 1981 through an agreement between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• It is an economic and political union, including all the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, excluding Iraq.
• Although its present official name is Cooperation Council for the Arab States, it is still popularly known as the Gulf Cooperation Council.
• It was formed given the similar political institutions in the countries based on Islamic principles, geographical proximity, joint destiny, and common objectives.

Defense diplomacy

• With deepening conflicts in the Western region, many countries would wish to increase security cooperation with India.
• India would require an engagement with the region's armed forces, which also includes arms transfers.
• India needs new guidelines on when to deploy its troops in the region. It has a tradition of forwarding troops to the Middle East and Africa on peacekeeping tasks.
• Adaptation with regional changes in the Gulf.

Check out the article on the Nuclear suppliers group.

Advantages of the Look West Policy

• India's strategic "Look West" approach could embrace the geopolitical significance of Pakistan.
• Pakistan could evolve from a hindrance into a vital connection between India and the energy-rich West Asian region.
• Pakistan could facilitate India's ties with West Asia by acting as a conduit for people, goods, and energy.
• Pakistan has shifted from geopolitics to geo-economics, underpinning it's changing self-perception.
• Notably, Pakistan's "Look East" Policy led to ASEAN security arm membership, indicating progress.
• With an India-Pakistan reconciliation, regional economic integration and trans-regional cooperation are possible, spanning Central Asia, South Asia, and the Gulf.
• Resolving the Kashmir issue is pivotal for the region's geo-economic potential.
• Pipelines through Pakistan could enhance connectivity, bolstering trade and transit treaties.
• Stimulating free trade between South Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council could stem from Indo-Pak cooperation.
• Projects like interlinked grids and cross-border roads could solidify Pakistan's role as India's West gateway.
• Mutually, India would be Pakistan's entry to the East.

Check out the linked article on ASEAN now.

Current status of the Look West Policy

• India's relations with the Arab Gulf states have evolved since the 1970s, while connections with Israel and Iran are more recent. It mainly developed from the 1990s.
• Israel empathized with India over Kashmir.
• During the Kargil crisis, Israel became a crucial armaments supplier, boosting the Israel-India arms trade.
• Apart from arms, Israel engaged in value-added trade and investment, reflected in Modi's 2017 visit.
• Modi and Netanyahu signed agreements on development, agriculture, and space cooperation.
• This visit reduced the impact of Palestine on India's foreign policy, echoed in the Gulf states' reconciliation with Israel.
• India's Iran relations encompass security and economic aspects.
• Iran's energy supply and regional security bolster India's interests.
• Chabahar port agreements with Iran and Afghanistan expand trade links, counter China's BRI, and provide alternatives to Gwadar port.
• India enhances West Asian ties while navigating regional interests.

Check out the article on the Belt and road initiative (BRI) now.

9-point Agenda for India’s Look-West Policy

• Geopolitical Awareness: Recognize the geopolitical significance of nations in the West, particularly in the Middle East.
• Enhanced Connectivity: Promote improved connectivity with West Asian countries to foster economic and cultural ties.
• Energy Security: Collaborate with energy-rich West Asian nations to ensure a stable and reliable energy supply.
• Counterterrorism Cooperation: Strengthen collaboration with West Asian countries to address regional security concerns.
• Economic Integration: Pursue economic integration by engaging in trade, investment, and cooperation.
• Security and Defense: Enhance defense and security cooperation with West Asian countries to address mutual security interests.
• Strategic Partnerships: Develop partnerships with key West Asian nations to bolster regional stability and security.
• Cultural and People-to-People Ties: Foster cultural and people-to-people connections to strengthen mutual understanding and goodwill.
• Mediation and Conflict Resolution: Play a constructive role in regional conflicts and disputes, promoting peaceful resolutions and stability.

Check out this linked article on Regional comprehensive economic partnership for UPSC here.

Constraints Associated with Look West Policy

• Peace talks between Israel and Palestine have made little progress. The United States' increasing support for Israel poses challenges.
• The larger Arab population is showing renewed support for Palestinians. This could strain the Gulf regimes' current relations with Israel. It might potentially affect India's position.
• India's involvement with Iran, particularly in the development of the Chabahar port, may not cut the option of collaboration between Pakistan and China.
• China has made significant financial investments in projects in the region. This may overshadow India's efforts.
• If Iran and Pakistan can resolve their differences and collaborate on port connectivity, India's attempts to counter China and Pakistan through Iran may become redundant.
• Tensions between the United States and Iran are escalating. India has a growing inclination towards the US. This may pose challenges to India's engagement with Iran.
• The US has withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It has re-introduced sanctions on Iran. These have disrupted India's approach to counter China and Pakistan through Iran.
• India has reduced its oil imports from Iran following the US sanctions. This has further complicated India-Iran relations.
• The tensions in Iran have exposed India to risks concerning its citizens and economic interests in West Asia. This has led India to deploy warships and surveillance aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz to protect its ships. This situation highlights India's tensions with the US, particularly in the context of the trade war.

Check out the article on Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Way Forward

• India has retained strategic autonomy for a long time and is extremely skilled at it. Delhi has retained its head down, whether over the 2011 Arab uprising or Iran’s nuclear program, even as it has sought to expand economic opportunities in the region.
• For now, India’s Look West policy seems to be working fine. But how long is not certain.
• India’s footprint in West Asia was lighter during the Cold War and 1990s when the US was the principal power in the region, but today the condition is more complex.
• Although the US influence is not absent, it is comparatively more humble and competes with other powers such as China and Russia.
• West Asia has become multipolar, with powers scattered among several regional and extra-regional actors.
• India has implemented an approach that balances various parties and their rivalries.
• However, India must not ignore its national interests that surpass the necessity for an impartial stance.
• It must not allow major powers to influence its key interests like Iran.
• India must take all feasible steps to sustain its current position in the Middle East, have flexibility and strategic independence, and prioritize its national interests.

Check out the linked article on International Relations UPSC Notes now.

UPSC Practice Questions on Look West Policy

• Critically examine the components and purposes of India’s ‘Look West’ policy.

We hope your doubts regarding the Look West Policy would have been addressed after going through the article. Testbook provides study material for several competitive exams. Ace your UPSC preparations by downloading the Testbook App now!

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