India–Saudi Arabia relations (; ), also referred to as Indian-Saudi relations or Indo-Saudi relations, are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

and the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Relations between the two nations are generally strong and close, especially in commercial interests. Indo-Saudi bilateral trade reached US$27.48 billion in the financial year 2017–18, up from US$25.1 billion in the preceding year. Saudi Arabia's exports to India stood at US$22.06 billion whereas India's exports were US$5.41 billion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in conversation with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in conversation with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia

The two countries share a special relationship, and Saudi Arabia has been considered to be a popular migration destination for

Indian Muslims Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the third-largest number of Muslims in the world. ...

who share strong cultural and religious ties with the Kingdom.

History

Trade and cultural links between

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

date back to the third millennium BC. By 1000 AD, the trade relations between

southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

and Arabia flourished and became the backbone of the Arabian economy. Arab traders held a monopoly over the

spice trade The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in t ...

between India and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

until the rise of European imperialist empires. India was one of the first nations to establish ties with the

Third Saudi State The Third Saudi state is the heir to the two earlier Saudi states: the first and the second, founded by Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman (also known as "Ibn Saud"), who managed to capture the city of Riyadh on January 13, 1902. A long series of con ...

. During the 1930s, British India heavily funded

Nejd Najd is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in al-Jawf to the north, ad-Dahna Desert in al-Ahsa to th ...

through financial subsidies. Formal diplomatic relations between contemporary India and Saudi Arabia were established soon after India gained independence in 1947. Relations between the two countries have strengthened considerably owing to collaboration in regional affairs and trade. Saudi Arabia is one of the largest suppliers of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

to India, who is one of the top seven trading partners and the fifth biggest investor in Saudi Arabia. In history there have been four visits to Saudi Arabia by an Indian

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

(1955),

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

(1982),

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

(2010) and

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

(2016) . The two countries share similar views on combating

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

. There is a strong geographical and a demographic connect between the 2 countries as Islam is the 2nd major

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Moreover, the Muslim population in India is the second largest in the world, thus sending a huge number of Indian pilgrims every year for

Umrah The Umrah () is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the '' Ḥajj'' (; "pilgrimage"), which has specific d ...

and

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

Background

Since its independence in 1947, India has sought to maintain strong ties with Saudi Arabia, an important regional power and trading base in

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

. In a major visit by

King Saud Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 1953 until his abdication on 2 November 1964. During his reign, he served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to 1954 a ...

of Saudi Arabia to India in November 1955, both nations agreed to shape their relationship based on the

Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence () are the Chinese government's foreign relations principles first mentioned in the 1954 Sino-Indian Agreement. Also known as Panchsheel (Hindi for "five principles"), these principles were subsequen ...

. Saudi Arabia is also home to more than 1.4 million Indian workers. India was the only South Asian nation to recognise the Soviet-backed

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...

, whereas Saudi Arabia was one of the key supporters of the

Afghan mujahideen The Afghan ''mujahideen'' (; ; ) were Islamist militant groups that fought against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War and the subsequent Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), First Afghan Ci ...

, who fought the Soviets and their Afghan allies from Pakistan.

Development of bilateral relations

India's strategic relations with Saudi Arabia have been affected by the latter's relations with Pakistan. Saudi Arabia supported Pakistan's stance on the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

and during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, at the expense of its relations with India. The

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

's close relations with India also negatively affected Indo-Saudi relations. During the

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

(1990–91), India officially maintained

neutrality Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

. Saudi Arabia's close military and strategic ties with Pakistan have also been a source of continuing strain. Since the 1990s, both nations have taken steps to improve ties. Saudi Arabia has supported granting

observer status Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...

to India in the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...

(OIC) and has expanded its collaboration with India to fight

Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism, radical Islamic terrorism, or jihadist terrorism) refers to terrorist acts carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Since at least the 1990s, Islami ...

in the Middle East. In January 2006, King

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (, ; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia si ...

made a special visit to India, becoming the first Saudi monarch in 51 years to do so. The Saudi king and the

Indian Prime Minister The prime minister of India (ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the e ...

signed an agreement forging a strategic energy partnership that was termed the "Delhi Declaration." The pact provides for a "reliable, stable and increased volume of crude oil supplies to India through long-term contracts." Both nations also agreed on joint ventures and the development of oil and natural gas in public and private sectors. An Indo-Saudi joint declaration in the Indian capital

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

described the king's visit as "heralding a new era in India-Saudi Arabia relations." In 2019, Saudi Arabia increased the Hajj quota of India, making it the 2nd highest country in the number of Pilgrims. Thus, the number of Indian pilgrims jumped to 200,000 per year in 2019. In October 2021, India voted against a Dutch resolution in the UN Human Rights Council that proposed extending the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) human rights investigators in Yemen. This resolution had been heavily lobbied against by Saudi Arabia. In May 2023, Saudi Arabia partially boycotted a

G20 The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...

tourism meeting held by India in Kashmir. Ultimately, it participated with downgraded representation, only sending Embassy officials. In September 2023, the Saudi Foreign Minister expressed the Kingdom's desire to mediate in the

as part of Saudi Arabia's support for "Muslim peoples in their efforts to maintain their Islamic identity and preserve their dignity". In April 2024, Saudi Arabia issued a statement calling for the Kashmir conflict to be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan, aligning with India's position on the issue.

Commerce

Since the 1990s, India's economic liberalisation has helped bolster trade with Saudi Arabia, which annually supplies to India nearly 175 million barrels (25 million

metric ton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the sh ...

nes) of crude oil, or a quarter of its needs. In 2006–07 bilateral trade stood at US$16 billion (US$3 billion excluding oil) and is expected to double by 2010. India's current exports to Saudi Arabia stand at US$2.6 billion, while Saudi Arabia's exports are in the range of US$13.4 billion (US$1.2 billion excluding oil). India's major exports include

basmati rice Basmati () is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which originates from the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the regions of Nepal, Punjab, Haryana, Sindh and many other states and provinces of India and Pakistan. Both nations are expected to expand trade and cooperation and joint ventures in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, health services, information technology,

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

, agriculture, construction projects, energy and financial services. Both countries agreed to launch joint ventures for developing gas-based fertiliser plants in Saudi Arabia. India agreed to set up institutes of higher education and research, provide educational opportunities in India for Saudi Arabian students and expand cooperation between India's

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR; IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada'') is a research and development (R&D) organisation in India to promote scientific, industrial and economic growth. Headquarter ...

and the Saudi Arabian Standards Organisation (SASO). India and Saudi trade was almost US$25 billion last fiscal year with about 2 million Indians working in Saudi Arabia . Saudi imports from India amounted to $7 billion or 2.7% of India's overall exports in 2015. The 10 major commodities exported from India to Saudi Arabia were: # Cereals: $1.8 billion # Spices: $1.1 billion # Machinery: $459 million # Iron or steel products: $367.8 million # Organic chemicals: $336.8 million # Meat: $267.9 million # Vehicles: $229 million # Ceramic products: $217.4 million # Electronic equipment: $203.9 million # Clothing (not knit or crochet): $162.8 million Saudi exports to India amounted to $21.4 billion or 5.5% of India's overall imports in 2015. The 10 major commodities exported from Saudi Arabia to India were: # Oil: $16.4 billion # Organic chemicals: $1.2 billion # Plastics: $954.2 million # Fertilizers: $729.9 million # Gems, precious metals: $631.4 million # Aircraft, spacecraft: $542.9 million # Inorganic chemicals: $199.5 million # Aluminum: $193.6 million # Copper: $142.9 million # Other chemical goods: $95.3 million In 2018, the bilateral trade relations between the two countries hit $27.5 billion. In 2023, the UAE and Saudi Arabia joined BRICS.

Bilateral investment

India and Saudi Arabia are developing countries and need two-sided flow of investment in infrastructure and development. Progressive growth has been observed between the countries in bilateral investment after the liberalisation policy of India in 1991 and little bit faster increase in new millennium. Saudi Arabia is ranked at 15th position in country-wise FDI joint venture in India and it is second in Arab countries followed by UAE. Saudi has US$21.55 million worth value in FDI joint venture during 2004–05 to 2007–08. Saudi is also among the major FDI investing countries in India, it has invested during August 1991 to December 1999 and during January 2000 to August 2008. Investment is observed in diverse fields such as paper manufacture, chemicals, computer software, granite processing, industrial products and machinery, cement, metallurgical industries, etc. Indian firms also has shown the interest in Saudi market after new Saudi laws and established joint venture projects or wholly owned subsidiaries in the Kingdom. According to Saudi investment authority survey, India has 56 FDI projects having worth of 304 million SAR during 2005 in Saudi Arabia. These licenses are for projects in different sectors such as management and consultancy services, construction projects, telecommunications, information technology, pharmaceuticals, etc. Moreover, several Indian companies have established collaborations with Saudi companies and working in the Kingdom in the areas of designing, consultancy, financial services and software development.

2010 visit to Saudi Arabia by Manmohan Singh

Indian Prime Minister

undertook a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia beginning 27 February 2010. He was accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Commerce and Industry Minister

Anand Sharma Anand Sharma (born 5 January 1953) is an Indian politician and former Union Cabinet Minister in charge of Commerce and Industry and Textiles in the Government of India. Since June 2014, Sharma was the Deputy Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, ...

, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Minister of State for External Affairs

Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, author, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is currently the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs. ...

. It was the first visit to the kingdom by an Indian Prime Minister since 1982 and the third to date. In a rare diplomatic gesture symbolising the strong cultural and socio-economic ties between the two nations, Dr Singh and his official delegation were received at the royal terminal of the

King Khalid International Airport King Khalid International Airport (; ) is an international airport located about north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This airport consists of five Airport terminal, passenger terminals with eight aero-bridges each, a mosque, and parking facilities ...

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (c. 5 January 1931 – 22 October 2011) (, ''Sulṭān ibn ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Suʿūd''), called ''The generous Sultan'' (, ''Sulṭan al Khair'') in Saudi Arabia, was the Saudi defense minister from 1963 to 201 ...

accompanied by his entire cabinet. In departure from the protocol norms, a red carpet was rolled out to the Prime Minister, instead of the traditional green carpet. The nearly 40 km route from the airport to the city centre was lined with Indian and Saudi Arabian flags. On the second day a formal reception was held in honour of the state guests. Singh was scheduled to address the Majlis-e-Shura, a privilege that has been described as "a singular honour". Female diplomat Latha Reddy was permitted not to wear the

abaya The abaya (colloquially and more commonly, ', especially in Literary Arabic: '; plural ', '), sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in the Muslim world including m ...

or the

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

. This special gesture was described as "largely symbolic in nature, but it is a sign of the changing times". During his visit Singh received an honorary doctorate from Saudi Arabia's

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

. An MoU for co-operation was signed between

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...

, Bangalore and the King Saud University in the presence of the Prime Minister. Later, speaking at a community event at the Indian Embassy hosted by Indian Ambassador Talmeez Ahmed, the Prime Minister praised the contributions made by the over 1.8 million Indian citizens. "India is proud of you and proud of your achievements in this country," he said. An extradition treaty was signed by Indian Health and Family Welfare Minister

Ghulam Nabi Azad Ghulam Nabi Azad (born 7 March 1949) is an Indian politician who served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha between 2014 and 2021. He also served as the Chief Minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008. On 26 Septemb ...

and Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz the Saudi Arabian Second Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister. Four agreements pertaining to transfer of sentenced persons, cultural co-operation, Memorandum of Understanding between

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...

and

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST; ) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a governmental organization established in 1977 as the Saudi Arabian National Center for Science & Technology (SANCST; ); in 1985, it was renamed King Abdulaziz ...

for co-operation in peaceful use of outer space and joint research and information technology were also signed in presence of the two leaders. Four other agreements were also signed the day before, including one by

Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses. T ...

to supply school buses worth US$80 million. Singh returned home on 1 March 2010 concluding this three-day visit. This visit is considered as India's attempt to increase the depth of relationships between the two countries and make a pitch for investments from Saudi Arabia.

2016 visit by Narendra Modi

Indian prime minister

visited Saudi Arabia in April, 2016. The agenda of the visit was energy, security, trade and well-being of

Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (ISO 15919, ISO: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are people of Indian descent who reside or originate outside of India (Including those that were directly under the British Raj). Acc ...

. During the visit, Modi was conferred the

Order of King Abdulaziz The Order of King Abdulaziz (Arabic: وسام الملك عبد العزيز Wisām al-malik ‘Abd al-‘Azīz) is a Saudi Arabian order of merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state. History In 1971 ...

which is Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honor.

2019 visit to India

The Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, made a visit to India during his journey to many Asian countries in February, 2019. The crown prince met the Indian prime minister as well as a number of high officials in India. The main aim of the visit is to improve the historical ties between the two countries. The two sides agreed on increasing trade relations between them. Moreover, the number of Indian pilgrims performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia has been increased to 200,000 every year. The Saudi prince expected that the Saudi investment in India may reach $100 billion in the next two years. Current bilateral Trade stands $42.81 billion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:India - Saudi Arabia Relations

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Bilateral relations of Saudi Arabia