{"id":56892,"date":"2025-10-15T18:43:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=56892"},"modified":"2025-10-16T11:10:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T05:40:38","slug":"india-saudi-trade-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-10-2025\/india-saudi-trade-relations","title":{"rendered":"India and Saudi Arabia to Deepen Trade Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A high-level Saudi Arabia delegation met the Secretary, Union Ministry of Textiles, to <strong>advance bilateral cooperation in the textile sector.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Highlights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India and Saudi Arabia have a <strong>bilateral trade reaching USD 41.88 billion in FY 2024\u201325.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India emerged as the<strong> second-largest supplier (USD 517.5 million) <\/strong>to Saudi Arabia\u2019s textile and apparel sector, capturing an <strong>11.2% share of Saudi Arabia\u2019s total textile and apparel imports in 2024.&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Both sides expressed strong commitment to <strong>further deepening this trade relationship.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A key point of the meeting was the <strong>mutual recognition of Saudi Arabia\u2019s strength in petrochemical-based industries<\/strong> and India\u2019s expanding capabilities in <strong>Man-Made Fibre (MMF) and technical textiles.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Brief on India and Saudi Arabia Relations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Political Relations: <\/strong>The two countries established diplomatic relations in <strong>1947.&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The royal visit of 2006 resulted in the signing of the <strong>Delhi Declaration,<\/strong> which was followed in 2010 by the <strong>Riyadh Declaration<\/strong> that elevated bilateral ties to a<strong> strategic partnership.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) Agreement<\/strong> was signed during the <strong>2019<\/strong> visit of the Indian PM to Riyadh, which established a high-level council to steer the Indo-Saudi relationship.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Relations:<\/strong> 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>In FY 2023-24, bilateral trade stood at USD 42.98 billion, with Indian exports at USD 11.56 billion and imports at USD 31.42 billion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Cooperation:<\/strong> Saudi Arabia remained India\u2019s third largest Crude and Petroleum products sourcing destination for FY 2023-24.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India imported 33.35 MMT of crude oil in FY 2023-24 from Saudi Arabia, accounting for 14.3% of India&#8217;s total crude oil imports.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In FY 2023-24, Saudi Arabia was the 3rd largest LPG sourcing destination for India, accounting for 18.2% of the total LPG imports of India for 2023-24.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Indian diaspora:<\/strong> As of 2024, there were <strong>2.7 million<\/strong> Indians in Saudi Arabia. This is the second largest number of foreign workers in the country, after Bangladesh.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defence Cooperation: <\/strong>India and Saudi Arabia are focusing on strengthening defence ties to achieve self-reliance and mutual growth in defence manufacturing.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Under Vision 2030,<\/strong> Saudi Arabia is aiming to transition from a defence consumer to a defence producer, with a target to localise 50% of its spending.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saudi Arabia signed a $250 mn contract<\/strong> for ammunition from Munitions India Limited, a Defence Public Sector Undertaking.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Saudi Arabia has procured the <strong>155mm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/16-08-2022\/advanced-towed-artillery-gun-system-atags\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/16-08-2022\/advanced-towed-artillery-gun-system-atags\">Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS)<\/a><\/strong> from Bharat Forge.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Joint exercises:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sada Tanseeq:<\/strong> The inaugural Army exercise held in 2024.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Al Mohed Al Hindi:<\/strong> Bilateral naval exercise initiated in 2022.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Areas of Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Trade and Economic Imbalance:<\/strong> The trade basket remains heavily dominated by crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia, leading to a persistent trade deficit for India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regional Geopolitical Divergences: <\/strong>India maintains balanced relations with Iran, Israel, and the U.S., while Saudi Arabia has complex ties with each.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pakistan\u2019s Role in the Islamic World: <\/strong>Pakistan often leverages its religious identity to influence Saudi perceptions and align itself with OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) positions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This has led to OIC statements critical of India, particularly on Kashmir, backed historically by Saudi Arabia and its allies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Labour and Diaspora Challenges: <\/strong>Around 2 million Indian workers in Saudi Arabia face wage disputes and labour rights violations.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Uncertainty due to \u2018Saudization\u2019 policies, aimed at replacing foreign workers with locals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The shared aspiration to reduce dependence on defence imports and boost local production presents significant opportunities for both nations.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Joint ventures and collaboration in <strong>cutting-edge technologies such as AI and cybersecurity<\/strong> can enhance strategic autonomy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By aligning their goals under <strong>Vision 2030 and Make in India, <\/strong>India and Saudi Arabia can emerge as pivotal partners in shaping the global defence landscape.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2179087\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">A high-level Saudi Arabia delegation met the Secretary, Union Ministry of Textiles, to advance bilateral cooperation in the textile sector.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Major Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India and Saudi Arabia have a bilateral trade reaching USD 41.88 billion in FY 2024\u201325.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India emerged as the second-largest supplier (USD 517.5 million) to Saudi Arabia\u2019s textile and apparel sector, capturing an 11.2% share of Saudi Arabia\u2019s total textile and apparel imports in 2024.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Both sides expressed strong commitment to further deepening this trade relationship.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">A key point of the meeting was the mutual recognition of Saudi Arabia\u2019s strength in petrochemical-based industries and India\u2019s expanding capabilities in Man-Made Fibre (MMF) and technical textiles.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-10-2025\/india-saudi-trade-relations\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56892","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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56892"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56944,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56892\/revisions\/56944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}