Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid his first State visit to India. Click here to know more on India-Saudi ties.
What are the key outcomes?
Agreements - The following Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed during the visit:
MoU on investing in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund of India
Framework cooperation programme between Invest India and Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA)
MoU on cooperation in the field of Tourism
MoU on cooperation in the field of Housing
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 PM Modi
Defence - More cooperation and collaboration in joint defence production of spare parts for Naval and Land systems as well as supply chain development was spelt out.
Strategic partnership - The commitment to strengthen the ‘strategic partnership’ envisaged in the ‘Riyadh Declaration’ of 2010 was reaffirmed.
It was agreed to elevate the existing ‘Strategic Partnership’ with high level monitoring mechanism by the creation of Strategic Partnership Council.
This will be led by the Indian PM and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, with support by ministerial representation.
The council would cover the whole spectrum of security and strategic relationships.
Security - A ‘Comprehensive Security Dialogue’ will be constituted at the level of National Security Advisors to discuss counter-terrorism, intelligence-sharing and maritime security.
A Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism will also be set up to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts.
The two sides also agreed to work together with other Indian Ocean Rim Countries for enhancing maritime security and international trade.
Trade - Importance of increasing the trade volume between the two countries and eliminating export barriers was stressed upon.
Further deepening of trade and investment cooperation was agreed upon, by aligning Saudi’s Vision 2030 and 13 Vision Realization Programs with India’s flagship initiatives.
Investments - Saudi welcomed Indian private/public sector investments and expertise in the upcoming mega projects in Saudi Arabia.
It has expressed its interest in investing in infrastructure projects worth about $26 billion.
This is beyond its already committed investments of $44 billion for the existing joint venture with the public sector oil undertakings and public fund investments of $10 billion.
Energy - The two sides stressed on continuation of the India-Saudi Arabia Energy consultations and expressed desire to develop the bilateral trade in energy sector.
The buyer-seller relationship in the energy-sector would be transformed to strategic partnership, focusing on investment and joint ventures in petrochemical complexes.
It comes as an acknowledgement of Saudi Arabia as the world’s most reliable supplier of oil & gas and the key supplier to India.
Saudi Arabia also takes part in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) (huge stockpiles/emergency stores of crude oil).
Potential cooperation in the renewable energy sector in investment as well as in Research and Development was recognised.
Skill Development - A Joint Working Group on Skill Development would be set up to identify areas of cooperation for mutual benefit.
Terrorism - The joint statement of the two sides condemned the recent Pulwama terror attack.
It acknowledged that disputes between India and Pakistan must be resolved bilaterally.
It also called on states to renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
The need for concerted action by the international community against terrorism was also emphasized.
It includes the early adoption of UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organisations by the UN.
Haj - The Crown Prince agreed to increase Haj quotas from India to 200,000, to reflect the latest census.
He also agreed to release 850 Indians from Saudi jails after a plea from Indian PM Modi.
What is the irritant in the relations?
India and Saudi Arabia have taken care over the past two decades to ‘de-hyphenate’ the relations from ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
However, the Crown Prince's visit to Pakistan just before his visit to India, and the unrest over the recent Pulwama terror attack complicate matters.
During his Pakistan visit, he praised Islamabad for its fight against terrorism.
He also announced $20 billion worth of investments, in addition to previously announced aid of $6 billion in cash and reserves.
Nevertheless, India-Saudi Arabia ties have been carefully built over the years, especially after the strategic partnership announced in 2010.
So attempting to compare the outcomes of the visit to that of Pakistan only undermines the relations.
