Historically, India’s persistent conflicts with Pakistan have dominated the national consciousness on international engagements. However, in Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, India has had a leader who has moved to reshape this Pakistan-dominant national consciousness by laying the foundations of New India’s rising role on the world stage. This reorientation is an important theme in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s repertoire for outreach to the voters.
Not long ago, campaigning for the Gujarat assembly elections, PM Modi in Ahmedabad highlighted
Historically, India’s persistent conflicts with Pakistan have dominated the national consciousness on international engagements. However, in Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, India has had a leader who has moved to reshape this Pakistan-dominant national consciousness by laying the foundations of New India’s rising role on the world stage. This reorientation is an important theme in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s repertoire for outreach to the voters.
Not long ago, campaigning for the Gujarat assembly elections, PM Modi in Ahmedabad highlighted strengthening relations with Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia after he assumed office in 2014. He said, “After 2014, India has developed strong relations with Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia. It is a matter of pride for me and for every Gujarati that nations like Saudi Arabia … have conferred their top awards on me. Yoga is now part of official syllabus in Saudi Arabia… Hindu temples are also coming up in these nations…”.
PM Modi’s reference to Saudi Arabia in national politics assumes significance given that India-Saudi Arabia relations are undergoing their best-ever phase. This backdrop allows us to review India’s enhanced partnership with Saudi Arabia through a contemporary lens.
The present relations reinforce the civilisational ties, stretching back to 5,000 years, rooted in trade linkages between the Indus Valley and Dilmun civilisations, encompassing eastern Saudi Arabia. Significantly, these relations did not rest upon considerations of faith but on civilisational ethos, shared prosperity and mutual trust.
After India’s independence in 1955, King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz paid a 17-day visit to India. The high point of the visit was the conferment of an honorary D.Litt degree on him by the Aligarh Muslim University. This was followed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru reciprocating the visit a year later. But thereafter, the ties became estranged due to the non-aligned movement. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser became a thorn in the side of Arab rulers for his criticism of the Arab monarchs. The Saudis felt that the NAM projected Nasser’s leadership in the Arab world and did not endorse Nehru’s camaraderie with Nasser. However, ties improved later after the end of the Nehru and Nasser era. There were reciprocal visits by external affairs ministers in 2000 and 2001, followed by visits of the Saudi King and Indian PM in 2006 and 2010, respectively.
Compared to his predecessors, PM Modi has expended more energy in scaling-up ties with the Kingdom. He has emphasised that Saudi Arabia is India’s maritime neighbour. With this, he has recast India’s neighbourhood policy in which the sea is as important as land for a neighbour. PM Modi visited Saudi Arabia twice in 2016 and 2019. It is pertinent that for 32 years, between 1982 and 2014, there was only one prime ministerial visit to Saudi Arabia in 2010. As a mark of personal goodwill for PM Modi, Saudi Arabia, in 2016, conferred its highest civilian award–the King Abdulaziz Sash–on him.
India’s growing convergence with the Kingdom focuses on national interest. Around 2.7 million Indians, comprising 8% of the Indian diaspora, reside in Saudi Arabia and constitute the largest expatriate community. Then, the Indian diaspora in Saudi contributes 12% of India’s total overseas remittance – ranking third highest. Further, Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner and second largest supplier of mineral fuels– contributing 18% of its mineral fuel requirement and 22% LPG requirement. In 2021-22, bilateral trade was valued at US $ 42.8 billion, an all-time high.
The dividends of this bolstered partnership were evident during the Covid-19 crisis when both countries collaborated closely. As a result, PM Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman initiated to convene an extraordinary G20 Virtual Summit in 2020. As a result, India provided 4.5 million vaccines to the Kingdom, whereas the latter provided India with liquid oxygen.
Forging deeper links with Saudi Arabia also expands the engagement canvas. Earlier, India looked up to Saudi Arabia for its energy requirements and as a host for Indian nationals working there. Today, India has moved beyond this framework towards greater convergence in strategic areas of defence, counter-terrorism and cyber-security. By imparting a greater strategic element to the relationship, India’s stake in the security and stability of the region has been elevated. This led to the setting up of the Strategic Partnership Council, co-chaired by the Indian PM and Saudi Crown Prince. It has two pillars at the ministerial levels – ‘Political-Security-Socio-Cultural’ and ‘Economic and Investment’. The geopolitical challenges facing the Arab world have also contributed to creating a ground for India’s enhanced role. As the US continually shifts its interest away from the region in the aftermath of the Ukraine war, the stage is conducive for India to be a role player in promoting regional security.
The cultural relations and people-to-people contact have further invigorated with Yoga acquiring popularity after being recognised as a sports activity. This culminated in MoU on Yoga Cooperation in 2021, leading to the institutionalisation of formal Yoga standards, with Kingdom becoming the first Arab-Gulf country to implement it. Today, the International Day of Yoga is widely celebrated in Riyadh by Saudi nationals and the Indian diaspora.
Going forward, India’s G20 presidency will present new avenues for both nations to cultivate deeper bilateral and multilateral cooperation within the broader framework of G20.
By showcasing the blossoming relations with Saudi Arabia on the national political stage, PM Modi has sought to bring a major foreign-policy success closer to people’s minds and, by extension, depicted how foreign policy is an international expression of national aspirations.
Tariq Mansoor is former Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University, India
The views expressed are personal
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