External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday underlined that the history of India and the Middle East are inextricably linked, saying the region is an extended neighbourhood with which New Delhi has now reconnected in full measure.

”Whether it is commerce or connectivity, ideas and beliefs, or customs and traditions, we have actually seen an interplay over centuries. Interestingly, although India has influenced its extended neighbourhood in all directions, the one to our West has had the deepest impact on its own society,” he said at the Inaugural session of Raisina Middle East in Abu Dhabi.

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Mr Jaishankar is in the UAE on a two-day visit.

He said an India with wider interests and growing capabilities today contemplates the world with confidence. ”We certainly recognise the risks, but we are equally cognizant of the opportunities,” he added.

Mr Jaishankar pointed out that the Middle East is a region crucial to India’s strategic interests.

”Our trade is in the region of USD 160-USD 180 billion annually. The energy dimension is the most visible; but there is much more to it than that,” he added.

The minister said that whether it is projects, technology, education, health, or services, the Indian presence in the Gulf is both pervasive and crucial. More than nine million Indians live and work in the region.

”But the Gulf also serves as a gateway to the MENA region and to the Mediterranean. Our annual trade with the Mediterranean incidentally is another $80 billion. And the Indian diaspora there is close to half a million. We have significant interests in fertilizers, energy, water, diamonds, defence and cyber,” he said.

He said India’s projects in the region include airports, ports and railway to phosphates, green hydrogen, steel and submarine cables. Material factors aside, this larger geography is a very critical connect between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic.

”And as our history underlines, there is a symbiotic relationship between us. We certainly have stakes that are continually rising; but increasingly, India also has contributions to make that would influence the direction of events,” he added.