India, April 26 -- The year 2026 has witnessed a tectonic shift in the geopolitical landscape of West Asia. What began as a series of targeted strikes in late February has spiralled into a high-stakes confrontation between the US, Israel, and Iran. While the direct theatre of war remains localised, the shockwaves have rippled across the globe, leaving the Global South and India in particular to grapple with the fallout of a conflict it neither started nor can easily influence. As a two-week ceasefire mediated by Pakistan hangs in a precarious balance this April, the world is forced to confront a sobering reality: West Asia's instability is no longer a localised risk; it is a systemic threat to the global economic order.

For the nations o...