It is an opportune time for Israel to expand its vision to distant geographies particularly in the Indo-Pacific. There are at least three important prompts for such an approach. First, the successful degradation of Hamas, Hezbollah over the last 18 months of war and impending decimation of Houthis, allows Israel to refocus on economic development. The Hamas has been incapacitated and its military leadership is in total disarray. Although Hamas is expecting an all-inclusive deal which includes “single-package prisoner exchange in return for halting the war”, “withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip” and “commencement of reconstruction”, the Israeli leadership is not quite sure about Hamas’ sincerity given that there have been ceasefire violations in the past, and hostage release deals have not been adhered to. For instance the 19 January 2025 deal simply fell in just two months notwithstanding that it had been drafted and approved by the UN Security Council.

Hezbollah is on the back foot; thousands of its fighters are dead, military arsenal has been destroyed and above all its top leadership, including Hassan Nasrallah have been assassinated through Israeli air strikes.

The Houthis too have been in the Israeli crosshairs since the time the group exhibited solidarity with the Palestinians. The Israeli Defence Forces have struck multiple targets deep inside Yemen as far as the capital Sanaa. The Houthis have also been targeting the merchant shipping in the Red Sea and have challenged the US Navy by firing missiles and drones. Interestingly the group has even claimed attack on a US aircraft carrier.

Second, Israel is looking towards East for the revival of its economy. According to Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat, the focus is on the Arabian Peninsula (UAE and India) which have been identified as promising countries to “increase exports from $150 billion to almost $1 trillion over the next 15 years”. In particular, Dubai in the UAE is the most attractive, and the “goal is to increase the presence in the “Dubai hub” and take advantage of an Israeli tech industry that has some 10,000 startups”.

Although Saudi Arabia is yet another potential destination, the Kingdom remains uncomfortably to any Israeli investments given that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is committed to the Palestinian cause of a statehood: “The [Saudi] kingdom will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. We affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.” However, MBS vision is to end wars in the region to enable “advancing his multi-trillion-dollar plan to transform his country’s economy”. 

India is an important business partner and the bilateral trade has increased significantly from US$ 200 million in 1992 to US$ 6.53 billion (excluding defence) in FY 2024 making it the second-largest trade partner in Asia and seventh largest globally . As many as 300 Israeli companies have invested in India and these cover diverse sectors from agriculture to machinery and even water management. In the context of the latter, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras plans to set up an ‘India–Israel Center of Water Technology’ (CoWT) in Water Resources Management and Water Technologies at IIT Madras campus.

Third important driver for Israel to look east is the opportunity to kick start the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC). The Corridor connects India with Israel through UAE, Saudi Arabia Jordan, and thence to Europe. It has the potential to attracts billions of dollars in investments and Minister Nir M Barkat emphasised the importance of the IMEC. He also conveyed Israel’s willingness to “collaborate” given its “huge opportunities internally in Israel”. It merits mention that one of the nodes in the IMEC i.e. Haifa port in Israel is the largest of the three major international seaports of the country, and Adani Ports purchased Israel’s Haifa Port for US $1.2 billion in 2023.

Closely associated is the India, Israel, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States (I2U2) group constituted in October 2021. The I2U2 focusses on “strategic sectors such as renewable energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence” thus fostering economic development. For instance I2U2 plans to establish a 300 megawatts of wind and solar hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat, India.

Finally, given the changing regional landscape, time is ripe for Israel to intensify engagement beyond the Arabian Sea into the wider Indo-Pacific.

Dr. Vijay Sakhuja is Professor and Head, Center of Excellence for Geopolitics and International Studies (CEGIS), REVA University, Bengaluru and is associated with Kalinga International Foundation, New Delhi.