PM reaches out to West Asian leaders on Eid amid energy security concerns

Prime Minister speaks to GCC leaders, flags need for safe passage through Strait of Hormuz and highlights risks to global food, fuel and fertiliser security

As India navigates the sternest test to its energy security since the Gulf War of 1990-91, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has over the past two days spoken to the rulers of five of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and also to the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, to convey his greetings on the festival of Eid. On Friday evening, the PM spoke to the King of Bahrain, Haman Bin Isa Al Khalifa, to convey “warm greetings on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr to him and the people of Bahrain”. The two discussed the situation in West Asia. 

 

In his conversations with the leaders of the GCC countries, the PM extended his wishes on Eid, condemned the attacks on the region’s energy and civilian infrastructure, and flagged the need for safe and free passage to container ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically key shipping lane. To the King of Bahrain, Modi said the attacks will have "adverse impact on global food, fuel and fertiliser security”. India has reached out to several countries for its requirements of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and fertiliser. 

Apart from the King of Bahrain, the PM has since Wednesday spoken to the rulers of Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and the UAE.  However, the reference to food security and fertilisers in his conversation with the King of Bahrain was a first. Sources said he is also slated to exchange greetings with the Saudi Arabian leadership. Other than the Gulf countries, the PM has also had conversations with the King of Jordan and Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim where he conveyed his Eid greetings to the two leaders. India is importing fertilisers from Jordan, apart from Russia and some other countries. Sources said communicating with the Iranian leadership is difficult as they have been wary for the fear of being detected. 

India is heavily reliant on the GCC countries for its energy security. Almost 10 million Indians live and work there. They contributed as much as 38 per cent of the total remittances that India received in 2023-24, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. The GCC is also India’s single-largest trading bloc. 

“Eid is an important festival and symbolises prosperity, and the region contributes significantly to the nation’s economy and also to the domestic budgets of millions of families,” an official pointed out, underlining the importance of the PM’s greetings in these tough times for the country as it negotiates the choppy waters of the conflict in West Asia. 

During his tenure as India’s PM, officials contend, Modi has sought to “match” New Delhi’s political ties with the GCC countries to that of its age-old, robust people-to-people relations. The PM has visited the Gulf countries 15 times since May 2014. These include seven visits to the UAE, three to Saudi Arabia, two to Qatar, and one each to Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Other than the GCC countries, Modi’s visit to Jordan in December 2025 was the first by an Indian PM in 37 years. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India in January. 

Officials pointed out that India has institutionalised security and defence cooperation with each of the Gulf countries, helping the country to counter Pakistan on international forums, especially on the issue of terrorism emanating from there. 

Modi has also made efforts to build close ties with the next generation of Arab leaders. The PM has hosted in Delhi the Crown Princes of Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, respectively. During his visits to the GCC countries, Modi has interacted with the Crown Princes of Oman and Kuwait. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi was accorded the protocol of a head of state on his first visit to India in September 2024. Among the agreements signed was the UAE committing to supply 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG to India over 15 years. During Modi’s visit to Jordan in December 2025, the Crown Prince of Jordan drove him to Jordan Museum and played the role of his onsite guide. 

Ever since the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia, New Delhi has also tried to reach out to Iran, although the Opposition, especially the Congress and the Left parties, criticised the Indian government’s late response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Israeli-US strike.

 

He was killed on February 28. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi on March 5 to pay condolences on behalf of the government. However, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has had four phone conversations with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi since February 28. Modi had a telephonic conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on March 12 where he urged the latter to allow “unhindered transit of goods and energy”.

 

Until now, Iran has allowed two Indian-flagged LPG tankers to exit the Strait of Hormuz. New Delhi is hopeful that it would allow to transit another 22 of India’s merchant vessels, including six carrying LPG, one carrying LNG, and four with crude oil. In the last two weeks, India allowed an Iranian naval ship with a crew of 183 to dock at the Kochi port, and potentially saved it from a US naval attack. The US Navy attacked another Iranian warship, killing more than 80 sailors. The Iranian sailors at the Kochi port have since returned home. However, as Jaishankar has said, there is as yet no “blanket arrangement” between Tehran and New Delhi for the passage of Indian-flagged ships.

 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who visited the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi on March 9 to offer his condolences on the killing of Khamenei, told Business Standard that he was hopeful of cooperation from the Iranian side. “We spoke for 45 minutes and discussed the ongoing conflict. I put forth India’s point of view. The response from the Iranian side was positive,” Naqvi said. The former Union minister said he told the Iranian ambassador about the assistance that India gave to several countries during the Covid pandemic, including sending vaccines and evacuating nationals of neighbouring countries, and that is the Indian approach.

 

Iran, however, wants India as the chair of the Brics grouping to issue a condemnation of the US-Israel attack on its territory, with the Iranian foreign minister flagging it to Jaishankar during their conversation on March 12. Sources in New Delhi have said the Brics grouping adopts such resolutions by consensus, but the UAE and Saudi Arabia, who are also members of the grouping as is Iran, are not on board.