{"id":17444,"date":"2023-09-21T16:57:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T11:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/?p=17444"},"modified":"2023-09-21T16:57:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T11:27:04","slug":"importance-of-saudi-arabia-to-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/21-09-2023\/importance-of-saudi-arabia-to-india","title":{"rendered":"Importance of Saudi Arabia to India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ India &amp; Foreign Relations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">In Context<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The relationship between New Delhi and Riyadh has been improving steadily in recent years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">India Saudi Arabia Relations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Establishment:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1947.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Delhi Declaration &amp; Riyadh Declaration:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The royal visit of 2006 resulted in the signing of the Delhi Declaration, which was followed in 2010 by the Riyadh Declaration that elevated bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Highest civilian honour:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Prime Minister Modi\u2019s visit to Riyadh in April 2016 captured the spirit of enhanced cooperation in the political, economic, security, and defence realms.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>King Salman conferred on the Prime Minister the kingdom\u2019s highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash, indicating the importance Saudi Arabia attached to its relationship with India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) Agreement:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) Agreement <\/strong>was signed during the 2019 visit of the Indian PM to Riyadh, which established a <strong>high-level council<\/strong> to steer the Indo-Saudi relationship.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The SPC now has separate subcommittees on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation, and on Economy and Investments. Twelve pacts were signed during the PM\u2019s visit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Ties:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is Saudi Arabia\u2019s second-largest trade partner; Saudi Arabia is India\u2019s fourth-largest trade partner.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bilateral trade in FY 2022-23 was valued at $52.76 billion.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trade with Saudi Arabia accounted for 4.53% of India\u2019s total trade in FY23.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The bilateral trade has increased to more than US$52 billion in 2022-23, marking a growth of more than 23%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of January 2022, there were <strong>2,783 Indian companies registered as joint ventures<\/strong>\/ 100% owned entities with investments worth approximately $2 billion in the kingdom.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saudi\u2019s direct investments in India<\/strong> amounted to $3.15 billion (as of March 2022).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Cooperation:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Saudi Arabia is a<strong> key partner for ensuring India\u2019s energy security<\/strong>, and was its third largest crude and petroleum products source for FY23.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India imported 39.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of <strong>crude <\/strong>from the country in FY23, amounting to 16.7% of India\u2019s total crude imports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s <strong>LPG imports<\/strong> from Saudi Arabia stood at 7.85 MMT, and 11.2% of its <strong>total petroleum product imports<\/strong>, in FY 23.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defence Partnership:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The defence partnership has witnessed tremendous growth in recent years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is <strong>extensive naval cooperation<\/strong> between India and Saudi Arabia, and two editions of the bilateral naval exercise, <strong>Al Mohed al Hindi, <\/strong>have been concluded so far.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Both sides also cooperate closely in the domain of <strong>defence industries <\/strong>and <strong>capacity-building<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On defence ties, the joint statement said that the two sides commended their deepening cooperation, and agreed to continue work including joint exercises, training and high-level visits, and to \u201cconsider possibilities of joint development and production of defence equipment\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Indian community in the kingdom is more than 2.4 million strong, widely respected for its contribution to the development of Saudi Arabia, and seen as a living bridge between the two countries.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Recent Engagements Between India &amp; Saudi Arabia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor: <\/strong>Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country&#8217;s de facto ruler, and next in line to be King visited New Delhi for the G20 Leaders\u2019 Summit.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>During the visit he, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, announced the <strong>India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor<\/strong>, a massive <strong>infrastructure project<\/strong> that would <strong>connect India to Europe via West Asia<\/strong>, and could rival China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor will deepen India\u2019s strategic engagement with the Arabian peninsula.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It breaks Pakistan\u2019s veto over India\u2019s overland connectivity to the West.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council: <\/strong>Saudi\u2019s Crown Prince co-chaired with the Indian PM the first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The two sides signed eight agreements, including on upgrading their <strong>hydrocarbon energy partnership<\/strong> to a comprehensive energy partnership for <strong>renewable, petroleum and strategic reserves<\/strong>, and to create a <strong>joint task force for $100 billion i<\/strong>n Saudi investment.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They also discussed the <strong>possibility of trading in local currencies<\/strong>, and expediting <strong>negotiations for a free trade agreement<\/strong> between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council of which Saudi Arabia is a member.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Challenges<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aid to Pakistan: <\/strong>India and Saudi Arabia have stressed the importance of strengthening security cooperation in the field of combating terrorism and its financing.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Contrary to which, Riyadh still helps Pakistan with economic aid, even while strategically engaging with New Delhi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Role of China: <\/strong>The country is also engaged with China, moving towards rapprochement with Iran and Israel, and is also now consolidating the Saudi partnership with the US, India, and Europe.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many have thus already described this engagement as a power shift, with China emerging as a significant player in the Middle East.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increasing Chinese influence in the Middle East may indirectly help Pakistan, both economically and strategically.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Way Ahead<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India needs to patiently assess if China\u2019s growing involvement in the Gulf is detrimental to its long-term security interests and the regional balance of power.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The I2U2 partnership between India, Israel, the UAE, and the U.S. has already put India on the region\u2019s alliance canvas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the same time, recent developments also provide a window of opportunity for India to embed itself as a significant player in the Middle East.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Daily Mains Question<\/strong><br><\/span><strong>[Q] <\/strong>What is the significance of Saudi Arabia\u2019s bilateral relationship to India? What are the challenges of China\u2019s growing involvement in the Gulf region?\u00a0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Syllabus: GS2\/ India &amp; Foreign Relations In Context India Saudi Arabia Relations Recent Engagements Between India &amp; Saudi Arabia Challenges Way Ahead Daily Mains Question[Q] What is the significance of Saudi Arabia\u2019s bilateral relationship to India? What are the challenges of China\u2019s growing involvement in the Gulf region?\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17446,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17444\/revisions\/17446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}