Following diplomatic backlash from all the countries that are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman — and Iran, the ruling BJP suspended its spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, and the Delhi unit of the party expelled its media cell head, Naveen Kumar, over their remarks on Prophet Mohammad and Islam. This strong response was necessary since the Gulf countries play a vital role in four key areas. One, the region accounts for 16% of India’s total imports, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia featuring among India’s top five import partners. Two, India sources close to 40% of its fuel needs from the GCC countries and Iran. Three, about 90 lakh Indians (28% of overseas Indians) reside in the Gulf region. And four, they account for over 55% of India’s remittance inflows.
Share in trade
The table lists the share of GCC countries and Iran in India’s total trade, imports, and exports and their ranking among over 200 countries between 2017 and 2021. For instance, the UAE accounted for 7% of India’s total trade and ranked third.
