Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia not only resulted in five agreements, including on security, to further boost cooperation between the two nations, but India also sought Riyadh’s support on the Pakistan policy
Ever since the Modi Government came to power in May 2014, it has taken initiatives to deepen bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia as a part of its ‘Act West’ policy. The first sign of this appeared in 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia’s then Crown Prince and now King, Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit.
The recently concluded two-day visit of Prime Minister Modi to Saudi Arabia from April 2 to April 3, has further re-affirmed New Delhi’s commitment to transform India-Saudi Arabia relations. King Salman hosted a ceremonial red carpet welcome for Modi. The visit also saw detailed discussions on a wide range of issues of common interest to better understand and appreciate each other’s concerns. The two leaders also signed five agreements.
However, one area that figured prominently during the visit was security issues. For long, India and Saudi Arabia had limited interactions in this area on account of Cold War compulsions. Saudi Arabia has for long been in alliance with the United States and there exists close ties between Islamabad and Riyadh. It was only after the signing of the 2006 Delhi Declaration and later the 2010 Riyadh Declaration that the foundation of strategic partnership between the two countries was laid.
India is now giving priority to improving relations with Saudi Arabia in areas of common interest, including security cooperation. It was in this context that in 2014, the two sides inked a defence cooperation pact which allowed exchange of defence-related information, military training and education and cooperation in areas varying from hydrography and security to logistics.
The recent visit saw New Delhi and Riyadh agree on the need to intensify bilateral defence cooperation through exchange of visits by military personnel and experts, conduct of joint military exercises, exchange of visits of ships and aircraft and supply of arms and ammunition and their joint development.
Of course, both the countries have their own reason to forge defence ties with each other. India’s priority is to ensure safety of its people in Saudi Arabia, particularly those living in the Gulf region. Another reason for New Delhi to build security ties with Riyadh is its apprehension that insecurity and political unrest in the Gulf can easily engulf India. In fact, in recent times, India’s security concerns have loomed large, as the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, having become vulnerable on account of the Arab Spring and the emergence of the Islamic State.
Now, the Indian Government has realised that the best way to corner Pakistan is by improving ties with Riyadh, especially in security areas. Deepening ties between Riyadh and Beijing in security and economic sectors have also led India to re-orient its policy towards Saudi Arabia. Unlike in the past, Saudi Arabia’s mild reaction to the increasing Israeli–Palestinian conflict in June 2014 has further brought India and Saudi Arabia close to each other.
Saudi Arabia has realised that that the recent shift in regional security environment, with Iran expanding its clout into the Arab lands, can severely impact its security, especially when there is no consensus among the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council about how to safeguard security of this region. Saudi Arabia is also dissatisfied with the US’s handling of the Syrian crisis and its decision to not support former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The US-Iran nuclear deal has further increased security concerns for Saudi Arabia. In this changed security environment, Riyadh has felt the need to expand cooperation with India to ensure security and peace, given the latter’s influence in this region. Added to this is the realisation by Saudi Arabia that it is only through sustained engagement that it can move India away from its rival country — Iran. Thus, in the past, Saudi Arabia felt happy to see that India voted against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency. The protection of the sea and the Sea lines of Communication is an important security concern.
Counter-terrorism is another area that has led to the transforming of relationship. While India is one of the worst terrorist-affected countries in the world, Saudi Arabia has also become a victim of terrorism in recent time. In fact, both the countries face common security threat from the Islamic State. The first major development in counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries took place in 2012, when Riyadh deported a terrorist, Sayed Ansari, accused of involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008, and allegedly linked it to the Inter-Services Intelligence.
Saudi Arabia also joined the US to sanction Pakistan-based terrorist organisation lashkar-e-Tayyeba on March 31. During Modi’s visit, New Delhi and Saudi Arabia signed an Memorandum of Understanding under which both the nations agreed to exchange intelligence related to money laundering, terrorism financing and related crimes. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism, both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system of the United Nations. The two sides also agreed to work together towards the adoption of India’s proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations.
The two countries also stressed that the security agencies of both the countries should counter misuse of religious harmony. Increasing counter-terrorism engagement between India and Saudi Arabia is indeed a welcome development in the sense that unlike in the past, Saudi Arabia has accepted that India is a victim of cross-border terrorism, making oblique reference to Pakistan. This in turn clearly shows that Indian diplomacy has proved to be successful in minimising Pakistan’s clout in Saudi Arabia.
Economic and energy ties have been a strong pillar of the bilateral tie. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $39 billion in 2014-2015. Moreover, the strong presence of over 2.8 million Indians in Saudi Arabia contributes huge amount of foreign remittances to India. Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest market in the world for Indian exports, the destination of more than 4.11 per cent of India’s global exports. Saudi Arabia is also a major source of India’s oil imports, supplying one-fifth of India's annual requirement.
To boost bilateral economic ties further, the two leaders decided to encourage trade promotion measures and participation in fairs and exhibitions. The two countries signed the framework agreement between the General Investment Authority in Saudi Arabia and Invest India, aiming to facilitate investments from the private sector in the two countries. Saudi Arabia has expressed its interest in investing in infrastructure development in India, especially in priority areas such as railways, roads, ports, and shipping. In the energy field, the two leaders agreed to transform the buyer-seller relationship in the energy-sector to one of deeper partnership focusing on investment and joint ventures in petrochemical complexes, and cooperation in joint exploration in India, Saudi Arabia and in third countries.
The Modi Government knows that deepening economic and energy ties with Saudi Arabia will help India accelerate its economic growth. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia believes that enhanced ties with India will help deal with the economic slowdown that the country is facing on account of its military involvement in Yemen and continuous fall of oil prices.
On account of the US’s decision to reduce its oil imports from the Gulf region has forced Saudi Arabia to look for new markets in the East, where it views India as an important energy market, given its oil need to sustain economic growth and improve living conditions of its people.
Undoubtedly, the visit of Prime Minister Modi has underscored the fact that in the changed regional and global environments, India and Saudi Arabia see each other as of great significance in protecting their national interests. Thus, it should be hoped that the two countries will further take necessary steps to elevate the relationship to a new level. More precisely, India and Saudi Arabia should hold a strategic dialogue annually, giving new impetus to the bilateral tie.
(The writer is an ICSSR doctoral fellow, UGC Centre for Southern Asia Studies, Pondicherry University)