This is a single-volume account of India's relations with the Middle East. The author critically analyzes the many considerations - political, strategic, diplomatic and economic - that have shaped foreign policy decisions. Against the historical backdrop of the newly independent India, the author examines relations with four key Middle Eastern states - Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia - evaluating India's concerns about security in the region and its own developing economy. In particular, Mudiam emphasizes the ways in which, initially, India's foreign policy towards the Middle East was strongly influenced by Nehru's own ideological and intellectual proclivities - though these were not necessarily in the long-term interests of the region.