Jordan and India: The Fight Against Extremism

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s first full-fledged visit to the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan this month came at a pivotal time not only in West Asia’s own regional geopolitics, but the unravelling of the global security order as well. Amman has been at the forefront of trying to manage the fallout of Hamas’s terror attack against Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli war against the group in Gaza and its extension against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Both West Asia and India have suffered terror strikes over the past few years, bringing to the forefront a global crisis that has been diluted in multilateral forums as the US retracts its military, political, and legal might dedicated to fighting terror since 9/11. While Washington remains committed to targeted, narrowed down counter-terror operations in West Asia and parts of Africa, regional powers will have to fill in gaps in regional security architectures, whether out of choice or compulsion. Only a few days after PM Modi ended his visit, the US, along with Jordan, launched airstrikes inside Syria targeting over 70 sites associated with the Islamic State (IS) terror network.

Both West Asia and India have suffered terror strikes over the past few years, bringing to the forefront a global crisis that has been diluted in multilateral forums as the US retracts its military, political, and legal might dedicated to fighting terror since 9/11.

India’s security cooperation with Jordan comes at an opportune time and Modi’s visit to Amman added a personalised touch to bilateral relations. Jordan’s king, Abdullah II, has regularly pushed back against radicalisation and extremism, a point mentioned by Modi as part of his public exchange during this visit. Abdullah’s visit to India in 2018 also saw his lecture in Delhi address some of these issues in a speech titled Islamic Heritage: Promoting Understanding and Moderation. The Modi government has also promoted de-radicalisation programmes along with putting forward Sufism as the more moderate and modern ideological direction within Islam. This is where security linkages between States like India and Jordan can truly be solidified. While the global fight against terror in 2025 stands at a point of fracture and disunity, pushed by big power competitions and regional infractions and wars in Ukraine and Gaza, more fundamental aspects of countering terrorism and violent extremism can be developed between New Delhi and Amman with long-term dividends leading the way. These dividends can include institutionalising moderate Islamic cultural linkages and exchanges, cooperating in counter-radicalisation practices and blueprints, nimbler formats to share information between intelligence and security agencies and even using Amman as a base for a regular India-Jordan track on South and West Asian security challenges in this space, incubating civil society and groups working on the forefront of counter-radicalisation.

Moving forward, violent extremism is a threat that is not going to decapitate any time soon. From the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan to “reformed” jihadist Ahmed Al Sharaa becoming an endorsed president of Syria, the needle on countering terrorism seems to be moving from annihilation to accommodation. Amman has reiterated support for Syria with Al Sharaa having visited thrice. New Delhi, recently, opened diplomatic exchanges with the Taliban in Kabul after years of cautious calibration. The future of this trajectory remains questionable.

From the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan to “reformed” jihadist Ahmed Al Sharaa becoming an endorsed president of Syria, the needle on countering terrorism seems to be moving from annihilation to accommodation.

The threat of terrorism, by all accounts, is expected to rise, and not fall, in the coming years. Extremist groups and organisations are well placed to take advantage of crevasses in the international order as the idea of collective security takes a backseat. In this period of reorientation, countries such as India and Jordan are well placed to solidify their bilateral security cooperation.

This commentary originally appeared in Hindustan Times.

• International Affairs
• Terrorism
• India
• West Asia
• Afghanistan
• counterterrorism cooperation
• de-radicalisation
• Hamas–Israel conflict
• India–Jordan relations
• islamic state
• Narendra Modi Jordan visit
• radicalisation and extremism
• regional security architecture
• violent extremism
• West Asia security

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