India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar separately visited countries in West Asia and North Africa last week. Although New Delhi has traditionally nurtured strong ties with countries in both regions, the recent visits hold new salience, given the major churn in global geopolitics and a significant reset in strategic equations in West Asia.

In addition to the bilateral component, Modi and Jaishankar’s visits were important to regional security as well.

Modi’s trip to Jordan was the first standalone bilateral visit to the country by an Indian prime minister in 37 years; his last trip to Amman was a brief stopover enroute to Palestine in 2018. The recent visit was to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Jordan, and the two sides signed pacts in the areas of renewable energy, water resource management, digital solutions and cultural exchanges. Jordan is a key supplier of phosphates and potash to India, which is heavily dependent on fertilizer imports.

After Jordan, Modi headed to Ethiopia, where the two sides elevated their relationship to a “Strategic Partnership,” an important outcome given that Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing countries in Africa and hosts the headquarters of the African Union.

In Oman, trade ministers of India and Oman signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in the presence of Modi and his host, Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. This has come at a time when trade flows have been adversely affected by high tariffs imposed by the U.S. In the bilateral context, the CEPA gives a formal structure to a steadily growing economic partnership. At present, bilateral trade stands at $10 billion.

As for Jaishankar, he headed to the United Arab Emirates first, where he met his counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before holding talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Jerusalem.

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