Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019 | Page 38

IN FOCUS
The two countries aim to elevate
defence engagement through with
joint production and military exercises.
The merger of domestic policies is a
potential mechanism set to assist both
PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ and Prince
Salman’s ‘Vision 2030’ to achieve the
defence goal.
The outcome of the visit by Prince Salman to India was
deep and engaging for the following reasons:
Strong Denunciation of Terrorism: Prince Salman’s visit
to India faced a glitch post the suicide attack on the CRPF
convoy at Pulwama killing 40 jawans. The terror attack which
was carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad was
strongly criticised by India for harbouring terrorist outfi ts
in its territory. Concurrently, Prince Salman was in Pakistan
during this sensitive moment that also saw the signing of
MoUs between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan worth $20 billion.
However, the important take away from Prince Salman’s visit
to India was the call to work together along with international
community to denounce terrorism and countries harbouring
terrorist organisations. To bolster their stand against terrorism,
India and Saudi Arabia aimed to establish a ‘Comprehensive
Security Dialogue’ at the level of National Security Advisors
and set up a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism.
Enhance Economic Footprint: India is a huge market and
largely an import oriented country. The signing of economic
and investment pacts has portrayed Saudi Arabia’s appetite
to enhance its economic footprint in India. India-Saudi trade
increased 9.56 percent to $27.48 billion in 2017-18. Indian
businesses are vital for Saudi Arabia for joint ventures and
large scale investments. The two countries also identifi ed
nearly 40 potential areas for joint collaboration and
investments across various sectors. In order to eliminate trade
barriers, the visit focused on relaxation of rules for business
and trade investments for export and to gain access in both
domestic and regional markets. The two leaders welcomed
the Workshop between NITI Aayog and Saudi Centre for
International Strategic Partnership (SCISP) held in Riyadh.
Energy Diplomacy: The US’s unilateral actions has come
heavily on its partners especially India with the introduction of
CAATSA sanctions thus putting pressure to reduce it energy
imports from Iran. This has provided a window of opportunity
to oil exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia to up the ante.
Saudi kingdom currently has seen a rise of 9.46 percent in
oil imports to India since the imposition of sanctions on Iran.
Given India’s growing energy demands, the visit promised
transforming India’s West coast into a petrochemical export
hub, guaranteeing fuel linkage between the two countries.
The two sides also focused on continuation of the India-Saudi
Arabia Energy consultations and focus on investment and
joint ventures in petrochemical complexes.
Defence Cooperation: The two countries aim to elevate
defence engagement through with joint production and
military exercises. The merger of domestic policies is a
potential mechanism set to assist both PM Modi’s ‘Make
in India’ and Prince Salman’s ‘Vision 2030’ to achieve the
defence goal. In this direction, the two countries have agreed
to ‘cooperate and collaborate in joint defence production of
spare parts for Naval and Land systems as well as supply
chain development’ including holding naval drills.
Other prospective areas of cooperation explored during the
visit were tourism, aviation industry, Indian Ocean Rim for
enhancing maritime security, technical cooperation on cyber
space; promote reformed multilateralism, global governance
etc. Prince Salman also agreed to increase the quota for Hajj
pilgrims from India to 200,000. Following the visit, India has
agreed to a 40 percent hike in quota in foreign fl ying rights
to Saudi Arabia from April 1, 2019.
The fi rst State visit by Prince Salman to India has marked
a new era of cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia.
With both India and Saudi Arabia focused to widen the scope
of bilateral engagement, the two countries may balance
each other’s interests but at the same time not overlook the
sensitivities too. Given the domestic social and economic
reforms that Saudi Arabia is undergoing under Prince Salman,
it has opened opportunities for both the countries to further
enhance the existing cooperation. However, the task ahead is
to put into action the promising MoUs and agreements signed
between the two countries with time to time stock taking for
eff ective outcomes. 
* Author is Research Fellow at Indian Council of World
Aff airs
38 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 3 • March 2019, Noida