India’s Abstention at the UNHRC: Implications for Indo-Israeli Relations | inss

India’s Abstention at the UNHRC: Implications for Indo-Israeli Relations | inss

Israel must recognize that despite domestic political capital, India’s support on contentious issues may or may not be consistent as international dynamics change. That, on the other hand, does not compromise the potential of larger economic and strategic engagement between the two nations. In the Modi-led government, the Israeli establishment has indeed found an Indian partner with minimal ideological baggage that might impede closer ties between the two nations. Even as detractors in India point to the legitimate concerns surrounding India’s overt proximity to Israel, this window of opportunity can be exploited to ensure mutual benefits. Israel has well known economic interests in India, and India’s strategic interests in a turbulent Middle East will be greatly served through stronger ties with Israel, which has stood as one of the very few islands of internal stability in the midst of severe intra-regional security threats. And yet, this may just be the beginning of a relationship that unlike in the past is not shrouded by a veil of mutual symbiosis.