Just like Israel is important, Iran is also important for India. But when it comes to the most important and the most important, then Israel beats Iran in this. While the trade between India and Israel has doubled in the last 5 years, the trade between Iran and India has decreased during this period. This increasing trade is a testimony to the growing friendship between India and Israel.
Tensions between Iran and Israel are increasing. Both countries are eager for war. After the killing of Hamas chief Haniyeh and Hezbollah chief Nasrallah, it was feared that Iran would retaliate against Israel. On Tuesday (1 October), it fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. The increasing tension between Iran and Israel is a matter of concern for India. These two countries of the Middle East are such with whom India has good relations, but when it comes to the most important and the most important, then somewhere Israel beats Iran.
While trade between India and Israel has doubled in the last 5 years, trade between Iran and India has decreased during this period. Experts believe that the increase in trade is a testimony to the strengthening relationship between the two countries. Israel has never made a statement against India, nor has it ever questioned any of its decisions. But this has been seen with Iran from time to time. Just last month, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed concern about Muslims in India.
He included India among the countries violating Muslim rights. Khamenei accused India of Muslim oppression and counted it along with Myanmar and Gaza. On his statement, India said that he should first look at his own record.
Apart from this, he has also given a statement on the 2020 Delhi riots. He had described the riots as a genocide of Muslims. Khamenei had given his reaction on the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. He had said that we are concerned about the situation of Muslims in Kashmir. We have good relations with India, but we hope that the Government of India will adopt a fair policy towards the people of Kashmir and stop the persecution of Muslims in the region.
Israel and India's friendship…
India established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. Since then the relations between the two countries have strengthened. During this period, trade has increased significantly. What was around $200 million in 1992 increased to $10.7 billion in the financial year 2022-23. It has increased rapidly in the last four years. It doubled. It increased from $5.56 billion in 2018-19 to $10.7 billion in 2022-23. Trade grew by 36.90 per cent between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
India's exports to Israel stood at $8.45 billion in 2022-23, while New Delhi's imports from Israel stood at $2.3 billion. Bilateral trade reached $5.75 billion during the first 10 months (April-January) in FY 2023-24. Making up 0.92 per cent of India's total trade of $1,167 billion during FY 2022-23, Israel was India's 32nd largest trading partner that year. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India is Israel's second largest trading partner in Asia and seventh largest trading partner globally. Currently there are about 18 thousand Indians in Israel.
Narendra Modi first Indian PM to visit Israel
Narendra Modi visited Israel in 2017 after coming to power at the Centre in 2014. He was the first Indian PM to visit Israel. For years Israel and India have been working together on counter-terrorism and defence issues and India has been buying weapons from the Jewish state. You can guess the strong friendship between Israel and India from the fact that when PM Modi visited Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu gave him a high level red carpet welcome. Netanyahu accompanied PM Modi wherever he went on the tour. He gives such treatment to a high level guest like the US President.
PM Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu
Friendship between Iran and India…
Just like Israel is important, Iran is also important for India. Historically, India has had good relations with Iran. There are strong trade relations between the two. Especially in the field of energy and infrastructure construction. India has recently acquired the right to operate the strategically important Chabahar port located in Iran for 10 years. Along with this, Indian companies buy cheap oil from Iran.
However, India's trade with Iran has decreased compared to Israel. Iran was India's 59th largest trading partner in the financial year 2022-23. Bilateral trade with it reached $ 2.33 billion. Before the increase in the financial year 2022-23, India's trade with Iran saw a contraction. It increased by 21.77 percent in 2021-22. It increased from $1.94 billion to $2.33 billion in 2022-23. Talking about citizens, five to 10 thousand Indians are living in Iran. Top countries supplying oil to India like Saudi Arabia and Iran are in West Asia.
Effect of war on crude oil and weapons
The increasing tension between Iran and Israel will affect crude oil. India imports 85 percent of its crude oil requirement and 7 percent of the total consumption is taken from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq. In such a situation, this war can become a big challenge for India. Apart from crude oil, there is a trade of billions of dollars including weapons between India and Israel, which can be affected by this war. Experts say that the conflict between Iran and Israel can also affect the Indian economy.
At the same time, it may also be difficult for India to maintain a policy of neutrality for a long time. If India tries to maintain its relations with Israel, then its relations with Iran can get worse and if it shows closeness to Iran, then it may have to face the displeasure of Israel as well as America.
