Today, Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner, while Indians form the Kingdom’s largest expatriate workforce, from information technology to construction, consisting of both blue-collar workers and professionals. The professionals are in such diverse fields such as engineers, doctors, software experts and consultants.

Indo-Saudi bilateral relations received a fresh impetus when Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah paid a visit to India in January 2006, becoming the first Saudi monarch to visit India in 51 years. The Saudi king and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed the “Delhi Declaration” during the visit, which set out the road map for the two countries to move forward, while providing an institutional framework for joint ventures and investments. The return visit of Manmohan Singh in February-March 2010 was historic and crucial for the further expansion of bilateral relations between the two countries. The two leaders signed the landmark “Riyadh Declaration” which envisions a strategic partnership between the two countries.

Soon after the visit of the Indian prime minister to the Kingdom, Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman visited India conveying a message of friendship and good will. The positive atmospherics generated by these two historic visits is reflected in the growing economic ties between the two countries.

A 28-member delegation comprising leaders of top Indian companies, led by Saroj K. Poddar, CMD, Zuari Industries, had accompanied Manmohan Singh on his historic official visit to Saudi Arabia. This has been followed by the exchanges of a number of major business teams. During the 8th JCM, both sides agreed to issue six-month multiple entry business visas to businesspersons from both sides.

India imports almost 23 percent of its crude oil requirements from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has pledged to provide continuous supply of crude to meet our growing energy needs, which was further confirmed by Saudi Arabia during the Indian prime minister’s visit. Both countries have pledged to elevate the current buyer-seller relationship into strategic energy cooperation.

Indo-Saudi economic relations have shown remarkable growth with bilateral trade registering three-fold increase in the last five years. India is the fourth largest trade partner of Saudi Arabia and bilateral trade was $21 billion in 2009-10, overcoming the difficult phases of the global crisis and slowdown that affected almost every country.

The import of crude oil by India forms a major component of bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia being India’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for almost one-fifth of its needs. Energy cooperation is an important aspect of bilateral economic ties and both sides are working toward the strategic energy partnership including long-term and uninterrupted supply of crude oil by Saudi Arabia to India to meet its growing energy needs; cooperation and joint ventures in upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors in India and Saudi Arabia; and the setting up of joint Indo-Saudi ventures for fertilizer plants.

The bilateral investment between the two countries is growing steadily. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has awarded 565 licenses (225 industrial and 340 nonindustrial projects) to Indian companies for establishing joint ventures and 100 percent Indian-owned companies in Saudi Arabia in different sectors. The Indian FDI (foreign direct investment) in Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 2008 was $2.07 billion. The prime minister’s visit in February-March 2010 has provided a new impetus to propel the Indo-Saudi bilateral relationship to a strategic level in which economic cooperation, including cooperation in higher technology areas, constitutes a crucial component. The agreements signed in science and technology will provide further potential for growth of investments in the IT sector.

Saudi Arabia and India have a number of established, structured and institutionalized mechanisms for bilateral economic cooperation. These include the Saudi-India Joint Business Council, the bilateral Joint Commission meetings, the Delhi and Riyadh declarations, and the Joint Working Group on Hydrocarbons etc. Most of these mechanisms are active. All these issues came up for deliberations with the Saudi authorities in the first meeting of the follow-up team of the 8th Joint Commission Meeting in Riyadh on Sept. 28-29, 2010. In addition, India and Saudi Arabia are also engaged through other mechanisms like the Indo-GCC Industrial Conference and the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement Talks.

With the passage of time, bilateral ties between the two countries will grow to new heights.