New Delhi: Strengthening defence ties, promoting investments, securing energy ties and a priority for the release of Indian prisoners are all expected to figure during the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman this week.
The Indian Prime Minister is set to travel to the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia over 22-23 April, where he is expected to co-chair the Strategic Partnership Council with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, apart from holding bilateral talks and interacting with Indian factory workers in the West Asian nation. This is Modi’s third visit to the West Asian nation following visits in 2016 and 2019.
“The defence partnership has witnessed several firsts in the past few years. We had the first ever joint forces land exercises between the two sides in 2024…Two editions of joint naval exercises have been held. We have had regular exchanges on training and capacity building and staff talks across all the three services,” Vikram Misri, Indian Foreign Secretary, said during a special briefing Saturday.
Misri added: “What is really important on the defence front is the growing and close institutional linkage or the institutional underpinnings that is being put into place between the two countries. More exchanges, including exchanging slots in each other’s institutions of higher defence learning, more training opportunities, more exercises and higher levels of engagement.”
Last year, Saudi Arabia inked a $225 million procurement deal of artillery shells from Munitions India Limited (MIL). One of the key outcomes expected is further institutionalising the relationship between the two defence sectors.
The other important outcome is the deepening energy partnership between India and Saudi Arabia. India imported roughly $25 billion worth of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in 2023-2024. Riyadh is India’s third largest source of crude oil.
While India’s imports from Saudi Arabia have fallen in recent years, there is an expectation that the visit will likely see an agreement for a long-term deal between the two countries. When quizzed on the likely outcomes, Misri simply said, “watch this space”, while highlighting the “salience” Riyadh plays for ensuring New Delhi’s energy security.
In 2019, during the Crown Prince’s visit to India, Saudi Arabia promised $100 billion in investment to the South Asian nation. However, 6 years later, little has moved forward in this direction, apart from the creation of a Joint Working Group.
The visit by Modi will likely see New Delhi take steps to ease Saudi Arabia’s investment plans in India, through different financial means. The final contours are still being worked out between the two sides.
Foreign Secretary Misri also highlighted that the discussions over the release of Indian prisoners from Saudi Arabian prisons will be “high on the agenda” during Modi’s visit. He added that the issue over Indian prisoners has always been allotted the “highest priority” in discussions between New Delhi and Riyadh.
Over a quarter of all Indian prisoners abroad are lodged in prisons in Saudi Arabia—26,000 of a roughly 10,100. The issue is expected to be raised by Modi, given that the two countries have multiple agreements including one on transfer of prisoners, which would allow them to serve out their sentences in India. However, Misri, conceded that none have been transferred so far, but the two sides are expected to continue working on this front.
The other issue that may be discussed between the two leaders is the free trade agreement between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the six-member regional forum, which also consists of Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, UAE and Qatar.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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