South Asian Business news and information

4 million Indians now live and work in Arab countries. Recently, King Abdullah of , Emit of Qatar and a number of high-ups from the Middle East region visited India. Today when I saw the news item that has been invited to League of Arab States summit ((to be held in the Sudanese capital Khartoum from March 28)) then I touched how important India  is becoming to this region. India is neither an Arab country nor a Muslim country.

 The political closeness seems to come from economies realities. Indian workers and skilled professionals are acting like the backbone of many Gulf countries while the remittance sent by 4 million workers to immensely contribute in the foreign exchange reserve. Thus, it is a win-win situation for both of them. and six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are almost in final stage in preparing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has informed that FTA may happen in early 2007. This will cause a sharp increase in the bilateral trade between India and GCC countries.

 India's growing importance in Middle East shows how skilled manpower is becoming a deciding factor in the economic influence a country exert in the international scenario.