11. GCC

India has been maintaining strong relations with all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); it has been facing stress and diplomatic dilemma due to the internal crisis within the organization over Qatar, which came into the open in June 2017. The decision of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to boycott Qatar over foreign policy differences has impeded India’s ability to forge and strengthen institutional cooperation with the GCC. Qatari insistence of pursuing an independent and parallel policy on a host of regional issues, especially over Iran, Muslim Brotherhood and domestic upheavals in some Arab countries, has come into conflict with positions held by Riyadh. Though India maintains friendly relations with all the members of the regional group, an early and amicable resolution of the crisis is of paramount importance to India. While it has strong business and trade ties with all countries, during the past five years, there has been noticeable Indian proximity with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.