India’s rise is creating a new strategic web from Washington, Jerusalem and Riyadh - opinion

For Israel, this evolution represents far more than another diplomatic milestone. It presents an opportunity to anchor itself within a broader strategic framework that brings together Israeli innovation, Gulf investment, American leadership, and India's economic weight.

The rise of the India-Israel-United Arab Emirates-United States grouping (I2U2), alongside the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), reflects a growing recognition that economic integration and regional security are becoming inseparable.

As Washington looks for dependable partners to uphold regional stability while reducing its direct military footprint, India has emerged as a trusted actor capable of maintaining strong relationships across political divides without demanding ideological alignment.

India and Israel, in particular, have built a partnership that extends well beyond defense procurement. Over the past three decades, cooperation has expanded into counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, cybersecurity, agriculture, water management, artificial intelligence, space technology, healthcare innovation, and start-up ecosystems.

India remains one of Israel's largest defense partners, while Israeli companies increasingly see India's technology sector as a platform for co-development rather than simply another export market.

The Gulf has undergone a similar reassessment.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia now see India not merely as a major energy consumer but as a long-term strategic partner. India offers one of the world's fastest-growing large economies, an expanding destination for investment, a dependable food-security partner, and a vast pool of skilled professionals who continue to contribute to Gulf economies.

As Riyadh pursues Vision 2030 and Abu Dhabi accelerates its ambitions in advanced manufacturing and technology, India's industrial growth offers natural economic complementarity.

This convergence has positioned India as the bridge connecting Israeli innovation, Gulf capital, and American strategic interests.

The United States has increasingly embraced the view that long-term regional stability will depend as much on economic resilience as on military deterrence.

I2U2 embodies that philosophy. Rather than serving as a traditional security alliance, it brings together partners with complementary strengths in food security, renewable energy, infrastructure, logistics, emerging technologies, and innovation, providing a practical framework for regional cooperation.

For decades, trade between Asia and Europe has relied overwhelmingly on maritime routes through the Suez Canal. IMEC seeks to diversify those routes by integrating ports, rail networks, digital infrastructure, energy connectivity, and modern logistics into a seamless commercial corridor.

Israel occupies a pivotal position within this architecture. Its Mediterranean ports have the potential to become gateways linking Gulf commerce with European markets, strengthening Israel's role as a logistics hub connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

India, for its part, becomes the eastern anchor of the network, supplying manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, digital services, engineering expertise, and one of the world's largest consumer markets.

The corridor's long-term success, however, remains closely linked to regional stability, particularly the prospect of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. While the Israel-Hamas War has interrupted diplomatic momentum, the underlying strategic rationale has not disappeared. Saudi participation remains contingent on progress toward a two-state solution.

However, from Israel's perspective, such an arrangement cannot be considered a credible basis for lasting peace until the Palestinian education system is fundamentally overhauled to end the perpetuation of hatred and incitement.

Riyadh, however, continues its historic economic transformation, while Jerusalem remains committed to deeper regional integration. Therefore, IMEC provides both countries with compelling economic incentives to revisit that path when political conditions become more favorable.

Despite periodic disagreements over trade, Russia, and tactical diplomatic issues, the broader India-US partnership remains remarkably strong. Successive administrations in the US have viewed India as an indispensable Indo-Pacific partner capable of helping preserve a stable balance of power while addressing China's growing influence.

That relationship has expanded rapidly through defense cooperation, intelligence sharing, joint military exercises, semiconductor initiatives, critical technologies, and advanced manufacturing partnerships. The strategic logic underpinning the relationship has remained consistent across political administrations because it is driven by long-term national interests rather than short-term political calculations.

For Israel, this carries important implications.

A stronger India-US partnership reinforces the foundations upon which initiatives such as I2U2 and IMEC are built. At the same time, India's expanding engagement with Saudi Arabia and the UAE creates additional diplomatic pathways that could eventually support broader regional cooperation involving Israel.

The strategic map may evolve even further.

India is also investing heavily in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a strategic maritime hub overlooking the Strait of Malacca. Together with IMEC, this reflects a broader vision linking the Mediterranean to Southeast Asia through secure and resilient trade corridors.

The Horn of Africa could eventually become another key link. Somaliland's growing strategic importance and potential political change in Eritrea may open new routes connecting India, Israel, Europe, and East Africa via the Red Sea, reinforcing the central role of maritime connectivity in the region's future.

For Israel, the broader conclusion is difficult to ignore. India is no longer simply an important bilateral partner. It has become a strategic bridge connecting American security interests, Gulf economic ambitions, and Israeli technological leadership.

As infrastructure, innovation, and trusted partnerships become the defining currencies of geopolitical influence, India's ability to engage simultaneously with multiple centers of power is likely to remain one of the most significant strategic developments of the coming decade.

Rather than choosing between competing blocs, India is building connections across them. In a region long defined by conflict and rivalry, that may prove to be one of India's most consequential contributions to the emerging Middle Eastern order.