THE three-day visit to India by 11 members of the Kingdom’s 150-strong Shoura Council has been about much more than its core aim of boosting ties with Indian parliamentarians. It is the latest step in a rapprochement after last year’s trade spat, when New Delhi accused the Kingdom of “dumping” polypropylene in the Indian market. The punitive tax it imposed was rescinded this January.
As Shoura Council President Abdullah Al-Asheikh found, the Indians are now anxious to find a range of areas where the two countries can cooperate more closely.
Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for instance told his Saudi guests that India, which is the world’s fourth largest pharmaceutical producer, could help Saudi Arabia strengthen its own pharmaceutical production, while assisting with the setting up of medical colleges.
There can be little doubt that in the Saudi delegation’s busy schedule of meetings with top Indian officials, the issue of closer defense cooperation also came up. Final details of a wide-ranging defense cooperation agreement are now being ironed out following February’s two-day trip to the Kingdom by Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony.
As this newspaper commented at the time, the standoff over our polypropylene exports to the Indians was an unfortunate misjudgment by Delhi, which not only overlooked the commercial realities of this trade but also ignored the bigger picture of relations between our two countries.
Saudi Arabia benefits from the presence of almost two million Indian workers, the largest expatriate community in the country. Even as the Indian economy continues to grow, the remittances that the Indian community send home still make an important contribution to India’s foreign exchange reserves.
The two countries benefit from each other. We can even say they need each other. Saudi Arabia supplies crude oil and petrochemicals to an increasingly energy-hungry India. There is also a growing amount of capital export, as Saudi businessmen seek direct and indirect investments in Indian companies. Nor is it simply workers that India is sending to the Kingdom. Indian companies, most especially in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are beating a path to Saudi Arabia, seeking contracts within the massive infrastructural developments that are taking place here.
Once upon a time, the main bidders to win these tenders would have been from North America and Europe. However, the world has changed and the economic axis is shifting decisively eastward. Saudi Arabia has been quick to recognize the change.
Now along with South Korean contractors, who have long focused on the Gulf, there are Chinese, Indian and Malaysian firms operating in the region. Firms from these countries are often cheaper, more efficient and execute every bit as well and often better than traditional Western contractors. They are also bringing their own technology, which unlike North American and European firms, they are happier to see transferred, so that Saudi firms can benefit and grow.
In this new economic environment, Asia is set to loom ever larger in the Kingdom’s diplomatic plans and relationships. Moreover, it could be argued that our ties with India represent the template that will be pursued with other Asian countries. With the change in the economic axis and consequential move in geopolitical power, the global agenda will ultimately be formed by Asia, not the New World and Europe. Therefore it was significant that in their talks with Indian legislators and ministers, the delegation from the Shoura Council discussed greater coordination of international policy-making.
Saudi Arabia and its fellow GCC members need to be part of the initiatives that will fashion the world in the 21st century. By fostering strong relations with India and the rest of Asia, the Kingdom is ensuring that its voice will continue to be heard. While this does not mean that we are in any way abandoning the relationships that have been forged with the West, it does demonstrate that the Kingdom appreciates the fundamental geopolitical changes that are taking place and is responding in a positive and appropriate manner.
Editorial: Growing Saudi-India relations
