Assess the significance of minilateral formats such as the Quad and India–US–UAE engagement for India's interests in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.

Minilaterals are small groups of three or four countries that work on specific issues. They let India get practical results without the slow consensus of multilateral bodies or the commitments of an alliance. The Quad and the West Asian groupings (I2U2, and the recent India–US–UAE trilateral) are now central to India's issue-based foreign policy.

Significance in the Indo-Pacific: the Quad

• Maritime order: In July 2025, Quad foreign ministers reaffirmed freedom of navigation under UNCLOS. This supports India's call for a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific [1].
• Supply-chain resilience: The Quad Critical Minerals Initiative (2025) aims to reduce dependence on a single country for mineral processing. This matters for India's electronics and EV plans [1].
• Continuity amid friction: Quad ministers met twice in 2025, in January and July [2]. India and the US also signed a 10-year defence framework in October 2025 [2]. The strategic track has kept moving while trade talks stall.

Significance in West Asia: I2U2 and the India–US–UAE trilateral

• Food and energy security: Under I2U2, the UAE committed $2 billion for food parks in India, and a 300 MW hybrid renewable project in Gujarat was announced [3].
• Energy and connectivity: The October 2026 Mumbai trilateral (Jaishankar, Rubio and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed) covered trade, technology, AI and regional stability [4]. For India, this means a say in Gulf stability.
• Diversification: India's hydrocarbon imports from the US reached $10.27 billion in FY 2024-25 [2]. That widens India's energy basket beyond any one region.

Limitations

• Outcomes lag announcements: Food-park and connectivity plans have moved slowly. Meetings outnumber signed deliverables.
• Dependence on US politics: Tariff and sanctions uncertainty under the current US administration spills over into these groupings.
• Balancing: Closer ties with the US must not undermine India's relations with Russia or Iran, or its role in BRICS and SCO.

Overall, minilaterals give India flexibility, access to capital and technology, and a voice on rules in both regions, but their value depends on delivery. India should anchor them in concrete projects such as minerals, clean energy and connectivity corridors, while keeping its strategic autonomy. That would advance Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and SDG 7 (affordable energy).