Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist August 2018 | Page 13

considered a lot closer to Saudi Arabia than
India is, due to their reciprocal relationship of
aid and security, the recent refusal by Pakistan
to provide troops for the Saudi-led operations in
Yemen has forced a redefi nition of ties between
the two countries.
Saudi Arabia has also seemed to have
moderated its stance on Kashmir with the recent
changes in the Indian government’s policies
and, in a pleasant turn of events, Saudi Arabia
condemned the Uri attacks in 2016 and, further,
signaled that the Saudi position on Kashmir
may be more fl exible now. This has led to a
more positive outlook with regard to the future
of Indo-Saudi Arabian relations, and even on
India-Pakistan relations.
Saudi Arabia has been an infl uential party
during negotiations between India and Pakistan.
With Saudi Arabia taking a more moderate
stance on India-Pakistan relations, India
could possibly count on Saudi Arabia to apply
pressure on Pakistan to comply with terms of
various agreements, and even pressure it to
offer more concessions during negotiations
with India.
In diplomatic terms, there is much to be
gained with the deepening of relations between
India and Saudi Arabia. At a time when both
countries are looking to expand their reach, both
states bring considerable diplomatic resources
to bear.
While India has never adopted binaries in
its relations with other states, there is a need
now, more than ever before, for it to adopt more
complicated relationships with other nations
to suit its own interests. India’s rather delicate
balancing act, maintaining friendships with
countries in the region who may be hostile to
each other while trying to be neutral, may prove
more diffi cult in the future.
This also comes at a time when partners like
Saudi Arabia are becoming more accepting of
the fact that India may have good relations with
countries like Iran and Israel, but that does not
mean that those relations would be at the cost
of its ties with Saudi Arabia. All these aspects
show that there is much to be gained for India
when investing in a stronger and more focused
relationship with Saudi Arabia.
India’s interest
in the Middle East
has been built up
over many years,
with interests
in energy
security, trade,
the presence of
a large Indian
diaspora across
the region,
security issues,
investments in
various projects,
and other
areas of mutual
cooperation.
* The author is a research scholar at the
South Asian University, New Delhi. He also
studied at the Institute of UN Studies.
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 8 • August 2018, Noida • 13
India’s interest in the Middle East has been
built up over many years, with interests in
energy security, trade, the presence of a large
Indian diaspora across the region, security
issues, investments in various projects, and
other areas of mutual cooperation. The GCC
is India’s largest trading partner, with trade
valued up to $137 billion in 2014-15. There are
over eight million Indians across the Gulf, with
over two million Indians living in Saudi Arabia
alone. India’s presence in the region has been
considered inevitable owing to geographical
proximity, growing commercial links and the
enduring legacy of cultural interaction and
assimilation. With such varied interests in the
region, India’s need to seek closer ties with
Saudi Arabia seems to be a very natural and
inevitable course of action.
For Saudi Arabia, the development of
closer relations with India also seems to be a
more natural pathway since the former also
has varied interests in South Asia. India’s
presence as the largest economy in South
Asia, as well as India’s growing infl uence in
relation to the rest of the South Asian countries,
are also important factors for Saudi Arabia to
pursue a more reciprocal relationship with
India. In commercial terms, India becomes
important to Saudi Arabia as a destination for
investment, especially since Saudi Arabia has
taken bold initiatives to diversify its economy
from oil, and it may choose India’s emerging
economic and commercial ventures to help in
the diversifi cation of its investment portfolios.
The reduction of the American role in the
Middle East, both commercially and militarily,
has prompted both India and Saudi Arabia to
cultivate relationships with other partners to
maintain their infl uence. The deepening of the
ties between India and Saudi Arabia is a result
of this collective need to fi ll in the gap and
diversify their regional and global partnerships.
Saudi Arabia’s own version of the ‘Look East’
policy has come about because of its fears that
the West can no longer provide for security
guarantees like it used to in the past and, in
this regard, India is seen as a possible partner
to allay these concerns of instability, provided
that India steps up its strategic engagement
with the region.
The question of Pakistan is also an important
one that defines the Indo-Saudi Arabian
relationship. While traditionally Pakistan is