The military confrontation in the Middle East, which began on February 28 when Israel and the United States jointly conducted air strikes against Iran, has engulfed the entire region in its repercussions.While this flare-up has shaken up most of the region, it has been the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states that have come under direct missile and drone attacks from Iran. Countries in other parts of the world, including India, have major cause for concern primarily because of the region’s significance for India’s energy and economic security. Additionally, the presence of nearly 10 million Indians in the Middle East, whose safety is of paramount importance to the country is not a factor to be forgotten. Transactional ties to crisis diplomacyThe current conflict has erupted at a crucial juncture when there has been a significant enhancement of partnerships in various fields between New Delhi and capitals across the region. Moreover, the ‘personalised diplomacy’undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in May 2014 has become an instrumental tool in transforming the nature of these bilateral ties, which for a prolonged period were restricted to oil and energy trade, with limited reciprocal visits by leaders.The frequency of high-level visits and the discussions between leaders, particularly those during the ongoing crisis, underscore the importance attached to these partnerships which have grown significant. Building upon growing socio-economic ties, India’s response to the current developments reflects a broader modernisation of its regional ties. The salience of India’s traditional ties with the GCC countries is signified by the fact that New Delhi imports roughly 70 per cent of crude oil from West Asian exporters. On the energy front, nearly 60 per cent of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports pass through the much-contested Strait of Hormuz, and approximately 90 per cent of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports transit via this maritime route. For instance, Qatar remains India’s single largest supplier of both LPG and LNG. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—with a bilateral trade volume reaching US$100.5 billion (2024-25)—stands as India’s third-largest trading partner, while Saudi Arabia remains the fifth largest, with trade valued at US$41.88 billion (2024-25). These statistics underscore the critical economic and energy/oil-related interdependencies between the two sides. The closure or blockade of this critical waterway, therefore, whether by Iran, the US, or any other actor, and deterioration of security situation, carries direct and indirect negative implications for India. The safety of the large Indian diaspora, further, remains another key concern for the Indian government. It is precisely for these holistic reasons that India’s leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, have been engaging in several rounds of phone calls with their counterparts in the conflict-torn region, to discuss the evolving regional dynamics, energy security, supply chain challenges, and most importantly, to ensure the safety of Indian nationals.The significant Indian workforce, particularly in the GCC countries, not only sends remittances back to the country worth approximately US$50 billion annually but has also become an integral part of the region’s growth trajectory. Considering the multifaceted interests, the ongoing regional conflagration, to a great extent, has necessitated a shift in the manner New Delhi engages with the region by moving beyond traditional trade to that of a proactive crisis diplomacy.Story continues below this adFollowing the intensification of the conflict in the Middle East, the Indian government escalated its politico-diplomatic efforts, with an aim to not only to maintain existing momentum but also so to further strengthen the partnership with its GCC partners. For instance, India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited Doha on 9–10 April and discussed with his Qatari counterpart the need to strengthen energy cooperation, while External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Abu Dhabi on 11 April and underscored the importance of energy security cooperation with the UAE, alongside acknowledging the support extended to the Indian community during trying times such as the current crisis.India, furthermore, pursued high-level dialogues with Omani, Bahraini and Kuwaiti leaders at the heights of regional tensions. Significantly, the Emirati Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, visited India in late March this year, during which she emphasized the need to enhance bilateral maritime security cooperation in light of the volatile developments in and around the mentioned strait.Tellingly, the visit of Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Advisor, to Saudi Arabia on 19 April this year, could be construed as another pivotal move to enhance strategic engagement with a GCC partner with whom India’s ties have witnessed a trajectory of steady growth. It is these consistent politico-diplomatic engagements by both sides that underpins the resilience of these ties, even amid the current regional turbulence. Diversification of defenceEven in times of crisis like this, the sustained India-Gulf engagement has also opened avenues for cooperation in newly developing domains such as defence. This has signalled the maturation of ties beyond their traditional oil and energy foundations. Lately, almost all Gulf states have begun to adopt defence diversification strategies to adapt to the evolving geopolitical landscape and “regional power recalibration.” Further, growing doubts over the reliability of the US security umbrella have led to a reassessment of their defence and strategic reorientation, prompting them to prioritise alternative sources of arms imports as well as defence indigenisation programmes and technological cooperation with countries from the immediate region and beyond. Story continues below this adOver the past few years, there has been discernible growth in India’s defence cooperation with GCC partners, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while there is a similar momentum with the remaining member states. This phenomenon coincides with the military modernisation programmes being undertaken by these countries, for which forging defence industrial ties has remained a key policy priority. Nearly a year ago, India and the UAE, at their 13thJoint Defence Committee meeting (in New Delhi) discussed these issues and also explored the possibility of co-developing “next generation defence technologies”, including in areas such as Artificial Intelligence.To further advance this growing partnership, New Delhi and Abu Dhabi also signed a Letter of Intent (in January this year) aimed at finalising the Strategic Defence Partnership, which is expected to strengthen cooperation in defence industrial collaboration, defence innovation and advanced technologies. Likewise, as ties deepen across these domains, India and Saudi Arabia are on a similar trajectory, wherein New Delhi is not only interested in exporting hardware to Riyadh but also in pursuing joint manufacturing of equipment. Shared threatsWhat will likely further consolidate defence-related engagements between India and its GCC partners is the commonality of security threats, lately, including newer forms of technology-enabled warfare, as witnessed during the Israel-US-Iran conflict this year. It should be noted that within a span of one year, both sides were targeted by regional adversaries using missiles (medium and long-range) and modern drones, which has also highlighted the potent threat posed by such relative low-cost capabilities. In the case of the GCC states, they have been exposed to such attacks from Iran (and its allied militias), while Pakistani-origin drones and missiles targeted several Indian states along the frontier in May 2025.These aggressive actions taken by the regional actors have exposed critical vulnerabilities, yet such crises are likely to facilitate closer coordination between India and key GCC states. It would, therefore, be prudent for the Indian government to capitalise on the strategic opening emerging from the current Middle East conflict. Furthermore, drawing lessons from two pivotal modern conflicts – the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-US-Iran confrontation – it is imperative to focus on the development of more advanced aerial defence systems, radars, drones and counter-drone technologies, which have increasingly become indispensable components of warfare at present and for the future. Story continues below this ad The Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation between India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC being signed by the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Shri Kamal Nath and by the Foreign Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh (Dr.) Mohammed Al-Salem Al-Sabah, on behalf of GCC, in New Delhi, on August 25, 2004 (Wednesday).While significant prospects exist for the future export of the Indian-made BrahMos cruise missile to Middle Eastern countries, further collaborations could be forged with the UAE in the drone sector; this key GCC state is rapidly positioning itself as a global drone hub with the objective of exporting indigenously manufactured systems to the international market. Beyond its ambition to become one of world’s largest weapons exporters and to gradually integrate into international supply chains, India also simultaneously promotes co-development and co-production of defence items with its international partners, including drones. It is within this ambit that prospects loom large for similar arrangements with GCC countries. It is noteworthy that the value for India’s defence export touched US$4.11billion for the fiscal year up to March this year, marking a 62 per cent jump from the previous period. The evolving defence landscape presents a strategic opportunity for Indian defence firms to tap into important markets in the Gulf region. As the GCC countries are actively seeking to diversify their defence import sources beyond their longstanding reliance on US-supplied weaponry, the current Middle Eastern crisis has also opened opportunities for other Asian defence markets, such as South Korea and Japan. This shift from West to East opens a window for India’s growing defence industrial base to gradually position itself as one of the potential sources of defence supplies for the region, thereby deepening bilateral defence ties while advancing India’s own defence export ambitions in the long run. The author is Deputy Director & Assistant Professor, Symbiosis School of International Studies, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India.