Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019

IN FOCUS S audi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan, India and China within a span of four days demonstrated Saudi Arabia’s an all inclusive Asia strategy. Prince Salman’s maiden State visit to India on February 19-20, 2019 aimed to develop a substantial partnership between India and Saudi Arabia. The visit echoed India’s growing relevance in Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy interests due to the longstanding historical links, cultural aﬃ nity, market potential, energy diplomacy, strategic relevance and soft power capabilities. The interaction between Prince Salman and PM Narendra Modi reﬂ ected robust optimism as several government to- government pacts were signed in major spheres of cooperation including energy, defence, infrastructure, security, tourism, trade and investment. The Asia tour of Prince Salman took place at a critical juncture for many reasons. Firstly, given the geopolitical contentions in West Asia, Prince Salman’s oﬃ cial visit reﬂ ects Saudi Arabia’s reassessment of its foreign policy priorities and the need to expand its regional proﬁ le. Secondly, Prince Salman has been widely condemned by the international community over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018. This has strained the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the West especially the US. Thirdly, in a time of global transition, there is a growing sense of optimism in Saudi Arabia’s need to pursue a more diversiﬁ ed foreign policy to expand the country’s regional and global outreach. Fourthly, oil has been a source of power inﬂ uence for Saudi Arabia as it is the leading oil producer and exporter in the world. However, there are growing signs that its large dependence on petro-economy is moving away from boon to bane for its economic growth as seen in the case of Russia. Therefore, under Prince Salman, the implementation of ‘Vision 2030’- a centralised development plan largely focuses on diversiﬁ cation of economic revenue source such as tourism, housing, investment etc. Lastly, ‘pivot to Asia’ policy has become the new mantra for countries whose foreign policy’s primary focus has been to increase regional proﬁ le while geopolitics of Asia at large has occupied a tertiary position. Saudi Arabia’s regional arrangement in West Asia is being challenged today given the intensity of extra-regional actors such as Turkey and Russia and traditional partners such as US overseeing Saudi Arabia’s interests while pursuing its own unilateral policies. Prince Salman’s visit to India has therefore reaﬃ rmed his growing focus on expansion of strategic outreach in which India occupies a pivotal status. India too has high stakes in West Asia and Saudi Arabia’s regional position in West Asia has only strengthened the longstanding bilateral engagement. The creation of the Strategic Partnership Council during the visit reaﬃ rmed the relevance of the partnership as visualised in Delhi Declaration 2006 during the visit of king Abdullah and the Riyadh Declaration in 2010 during former PM Dr Man- mohan Singh and Prime Minister Modi’s visit in April 2016. Prince Salman’s recent visit witnessed the signing of key Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries that includes: • MoU on investing in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund of India to expand bilateral economic cooperation. • MoU on cooperation in the ﬁ eld of Tourism. • MoU on cooperation in the ﬁ eld of Housing. • Framework cooperation programme between Invest India and Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA). External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj calls on Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in New Delhi (February 20, 2019) • MoU for cooperation on Broadcasting for exchange of Audio-Visual Programmes. • Agreement for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) launched by Prime Minister Modi. The signing of various agreements between India and Saudi Arabia is a follow up of the already existing arrangements signed between the two countries such as the MoU signed in Riyadh on February 28, 2010 between Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC) and King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) on cooperation in Information Technology and Services; MoU on the Establishment of Joint Business Council between Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) signed on January 25, 2006; MoU on Defence Cooperation signed in New Delhi on 26 February 2014 and many more. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 3 • March 2019, Noida • 37

Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019 | Page 37