Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s statement calling India “his second home” has infused new vigor into Indo-Saudi ties. The relationship between the two countries is enjoying new warmth and expanding in all fields after the monarch’s landmark visit to New Delhi last year.

Immediately after the royal visit, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, minister of foreign affairs, visited Delhi. His visit was then followed by visits from the Minister of Higher Education Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Anqari in November 2006, by Minister of Commerce and Industry Hashim Yamani in January this year, along with a 60-member business delegation, and by Minister of Petroleum Ali Al-Naimi to participate in Petrotech, the oil and gas conference, in Delhi also in January of this year.

Saudi Ambassador to India Saleh Mohammed Al-Ghamdi attributes the visits to “the will and determination” of both countries. “What we are witnessing is unprecedented in the history of Saudi-Indian relations,” he said. “It is definitely King Abdullah’s visit that has created this unprecedented environment,” Al-Ghamdi said.

On his visit, the king was accompanied by a 25-member high-level delegation, which included the ministers for foreign affairs, oil, finance, commerce, labor, culture and information. It was during his visit that he expressed hope that increased bilateral relations would result.

His wish has come true; relations are deepening day-by-day with increases in trade and investment as well as close cooperation in the field of energy. His assertion that Saudi Arabia’s ties with India did not impinge on the Kingdom’s ties with Pakistan signifies the growing maturity and consolidation of the relationship between the two nations.

India perceives Saudi Arabia as a near neighbor with which there are strong historical and cultural ties. Saudi Arabia enjoys considerable clout in the Arab and the Muslim world, is the principal source of its oil, a major employer of Indian white-and blue-collar workers and the destination of about 150,000 pilgrims for Haj every year.

Saudi Arabia sees India as a rising economic power, a vast market for its crude oil and other energy products, a source of technology and perhaps a gateway for fostering a deeper relationship between itself and other countries in Asia.

Though India and Saudi Arabia have always had cordial diplomatic ties, Abdullah’s visit clearly strengthened them further as well as helped in tapping into new areas of cooperation. His presence at India’s Republic Day celebrations in Delhi in 2006 where he was guest of honor — a unique distinction for such a dignitary — prompted major Indian interest in Saudi Arabia.

Describing the king’s visit as “very successful” and “historic,” Sanjaya Baru, media adviser to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, highlighted the factors that have played a crucial role in bringing leaders of the two countries closer.

“There was an extremely close rapport between the prime minister and the king,” Baru explained.

“The Saudi king was moved that the prime minister received him personally at the airport upon arrival and also personally saw him off,” Baru said.

On his part, Manmohan Singh was especially “pleased” with the discussions he had with the king, not only on bilateral issues but global ones as well. As a result of the visit, high-level Saudi delegations have begun visiting India and India has been reciprocating in the same way. There is no denying the fact that relations between the Kingdom and India are becoming firm and more cordial

King Abdullah signed the Delhi Declaration with President Manmohan Singh during his visit. It heralds a new era in New Delhi’s relations with not only Riyadh but also with the energy-rich Middle East that is home to nearly four million Indian expatriates. The Delhi Declaration was also significant because it was the first international agreement personally signed by Abdullah.

The two countries’ business ties received an additional boost during the visit with the signing of the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. These twin agreements provide the legal and institutional framework for trade and investment ties and will improve them, Commerce Secretary S.N. Menon said after attending the special session of India-Saudi Arabia Joint Business Council (JBC) meeting.

The interaction between businessmen from both countries is now much closer than before and they have been seriously negotiating the establishment of joint ventures and partnerships. The change in bilateral economic relations is evident. Saudis are much more interested in investing in or trading with India — and Indians, in a major export boom mode, are interested in Saudi Arabia.

The figures back that up. According to the Indo-Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry, over 270 major deals have been signed between Indian and Saudi businesses since the king’s visit.

There will be more — much more. India is now in the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in goods with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which Saudi Arabia is a member.

One of the most striking merits of strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia is that once the FTA becomes operational, many of the bottlenecks in trade with member nations of the GCC will be removed.

The recent visit to the Kingdom by C.R. Gharekhan, the Indian prime minister’s special envoy for Middle Asia, was very successful and helped in achieving a further level of understanding of each side’s perceptions of bilateral, regional and international issues. Another significant outcome of Abdullah’s visit was the initiation of a dialogue between the civil societies of the two countries.

The successful visit of the first-ever Saudi Civil Society Delegation to India on the sidelines of the king’s visit was followed up by the formation of the Saudi-India Friendship Society (SIFS) in Jeddah under the patronage of the Saudi Ministry of Information & Culture and of the Saudi India Business Network

A high-level Saudi-India Interactive Dialogue (SIID) is also scheduled for late November under the aegis of the International Relations Committee (IRC) of the Jeddah Chambers of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) in which Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Kingdom’s former ambassador to the US and the UK, is expected to be the keynote speaker from the Saudi side and Ambassador C.R. Gharekhan is expected to be the keynote speaker from the Indian side.

This dramatic transformation did not happen by itself. Abdullah’s visit — the first by a Saudi monarch to India in 50 years — telescoped a new resolve by Delhi to move beyond energy security in search of a larger economic role in the region.

It also focused Saudi minds on India as a lucrative market, a knowledge partner, a business partner — and, in future, a close ally. As such, it was a groundbreaking event.