INTHEBLACK August 2025 - Magazine - Page 21
“We like to have a plan B and are building more friendships
between Middle East and Asian countries to diversify our revenues.”
CLIFF IP FCPA, WINGS SECURITIES
For example, strategic ports such as Khalifa
in the UAE and Duqm in Oman are being
developed or upgraded with Chinese backing.
Bilateral trade between India and the Gulf
States hit US$161.5 billion (A$249.4 billion)
in 2023–24, with the Gulf States playing
a critical role in India’s energy security.
Dr Gopi Krishna Bhamidipati is an
international relations expert at Virginia
Tech and a contributing analyst to the Arab
Gulf States Institute in Washington DC.
He says the potential to keep boosting
India–Gulf trade is significant, especially
on the back of the UAE–India
Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement that was signed in 2022, and
the minilateral grouping between India,
Israel, the UAE and the US (I2U2), which
is promoting energy, water, food security
and transport collaboration.
“Those multilateral partnerships are
quite natural and important from India’s
perspective,” Bhamidipati says.
ANCIENT TIES RE-EMERGE
In 1453 CE, the Ottoman Empire closed the
famed Silk Road trade route — a network
of paths founded by China’s Han Dynasty
and which for about 1500 years had
channelled goods such as food, animals, silk,
spices and medicines between China, the
Middle East and Europe, including through
ports on the Persian Gulf.
Bhamidipati notes that ancient ports such
as Muscat and Sohar in Oman and Basra
in Iraq played vital roles as maritime hubs
in the Silk Road network for selling Chinese
silk, Indian cotton and South-East Asian
spices. This helped to connect East Asia,
South Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
“What we are seeing is essentially the
re-emergence of those ancient ties, but of
course, in the modern trade environment,
we’re seeing different items being traded,”
he says.
To fuel industrial growth, China and India,
in particular, have been increasing imports
CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
For all the positives of rising trade between the Gulf States and Asian countries,
there are cultural hurdles to clear.
Differences in business etiquette
and negotiation styles can lead to
misunderstandings or failed deals.
Learning some basic local greetings
can make a difference, and it also helps
to avoid faux pas such as ignoring
respect for hierarchy and seniority,
arriving late to meetings, or talking
about politics and religion.
Cliff Ip FCPA, managing director and
CEO of investment banking platform
Wings Securities, says developing
true business relationships in the Gulf
States can take time and effort — and
plenty of frequent flyer points. He
travels regularly to the UAE and Oman
to maintain peer networks and discuss
mutual business opportunities. Those
business partners are also invited back
to China.
“You have to know the culture of Gulf
countries, the way to do business and how
to establish trust,” Ip says. “I don’t think
there’s really a magic formula — it’s about
persistent hard work and demonstrating
that you are acting in good faith to create
value for both parties.”
Ip says companies seeking to break
into Gulf markets could also benefit
from taking part in business delegations
to generate contacts and better
understand markets.
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