Old trade and religious ties between these two ancient lands have strengthened and Saudi Arabia and India have emerged as partners in trade, investment and joint ventures, besides politics and manpower. As the Kingdom remains the principal source of India’s oil requirements, escalating demand for energy security has been increasing India’s sensitivity to the region.

New Delhi expects good relations and an uninterrupted flow of oil to fuel its growth. But enhancing its influence in the Gulf, particularly in Saudi Arabia, can provide India with not just energy security but with a diplomatic gateway to the broader Middle East as well. Yet despite the importance of the situation, India’s diplomatic presence in the Gulf is not up to the mark.

“The visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh creates an opportunity and provides a road map on how to boost Indian presence on political and diplomatic fronts in this region,” said Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Talmiz Ahmad in a recent interview with Arab News.

Ahmad said that New Delhi and Riyadh share common approaches on several regional and international issues and India should maintain an engagement to enhance the security of the region including Afghanistan. The remarks made by Ahmad are significant keeping in view the Kingdom’s “Look East” policy, which has now a new meaning for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

India now has to further India’s profile in the Gulf and seriously engage the region with economic incentives and structures, aggressively pushing India’s corporate interests and policy agendas.

While Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has been remarkably astute to continually engage India — making a landmark visit in January 2006 as chief guest of India’s Republic Day festivities — reaction and reciprocation from the Indian side has also been very encouraging. Top Indian political leaders visited Riyadh, and the diplomatic presence in the Kingdom was in a way upgraded by posting veteran diplomats like Ahmad, who has arrived recently as new India’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Undeniably, India’s strategic relations with Saudi Arabia have to be strengthened further and more confidence building measures are to be taken to bring the two great nations even closer.

“Saudi Arabia has supported granting observer status to India in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and has expanded its cooperation with India to fight terrorism,” said Saudi Ambassador to India Faisal H. Trad, who is currently in Riyadh.

King Abdullah became the first Saudi king in 51 years to visit New Delhi when he visited the country in 2006. An Indo-Saudi joint declaration described the king’s visit as “heralding a new era in India-Saudi Arabia relations”.

On trade front, the two countries have done better. While it is true that since the 1990s India’s economic liberalization has helped improve trade with Saudi Arabia, it is also true that the flow of trade between the two countries is lopsided.

The Saudis annually supply India with nearly 175 million barrels of crude oil, around a quarter of its needs. India’s current exports to Saudi Arabia are far less than the Saudi exports to India. This is an imbalance that India needs to address. The two-way trade, which is growing consistently, has been in the region of $25 billion.

Strong efforts in the diplomatic space can dramatically expand trade and cooperation in fields like telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, health services, information technology, biotechnology and construction.

As developing countries, India and Saudi Arabia need a two-way flow of investment in infrastructure and development.

Indian firms are likely to show a great deal of interest in the Saudi market in light of recent Saudi laws that permit the establishment of large joint venture projects or wholly-owned subsidiaries in the Kingdom.