NEW DELHI, 27 March 2005 — Saudi Arabia has come to recognize India as a significant power and begun to take the country seriously, according to Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, who begins a three-day landmark visit to the Kingdom tomorrow.
Crediting Saudi Arabia with taking the initiative to put Indo-Saudi relations on firmer ground, Aiyar said: “I have received signals from Saudi Arabia that they regard us as a significant power. I have been happy to reciprocate.”
“Why do they (Saudi Arabia) take us so seriously?”
Choosing to answer his own question, Aiyar highlighted the increasing importance of India’s requirements for oil. He said: “India is a significant importer of petroleum. We are going to become more so. Saudi Arabia recognizes this fact.”
In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Aiyar expressed optimism that Indo-Saudi ties would touch a new high in the coming days when Crown Prince Abdullah visits India. “He has accepted the invitation to visit India,” Aiyar said. The dates need to be finalized.
Saudi Arabia exports 25 percent of India’s crude petroleum requirements and the bulk of its petroleum products. While Aiyar does not expect any change in Saudi Arabia’s oil policy, he is optimistic about fruitful dialogue in the area of hydrocarbons.
Aiyar also hinted at Saudi Arabia being interested in cementing ties with India for quite some time, but New Delhi has taken a little long to wake up to this fact. “Saudis are looking for investment opportunities here. We in India need to realize this.”
Aiyar is the first Indian petroleum minister visiting Saudi Arabia to promote Indo-Saudi bilateral ties.
The crux of Aiyar’s oil diplomacy rests on promoting cooperation between importers and exporters of oil, for which he has a major agenda on the cards. He is also confident that the language in which he is formulating his long-term plan will appeal and perhaps even sell to the Saudis. “Rather than refining the crude petroleum in our land, we can import refined petroleum,” Aiyar said.
This implies encouraging Saudi and Indian investment in both countries. Aiyar said that any “agreement based on trade relations of buying and selling” leads to “unstable equilibrium. It should be focused on mutual investment relations that leads to a stable equilibrium,” Aiyar said.
Aiyar’s vision of Indo-Saudi relations is not confined to the bilateral level. Highlighting its significance at the regional as well as global level, he said: “Every continent has a regional organization except Asia.
We will be able to develop Asian countries into a strong, regional organization,” he said.
It is his long-term vision to make 21st century “ the Asian century”, with New Delhi-Riyadh as its axis. “We will sow the seeds,” said Aiyar. Giving a new dimension to Indo-Saudi ties, he said: “Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi and I have to become pioneers to establish that axis.”
A beginning in this direction has been made with India having hosted this January the first ever conference on regional cooperation in oil economy bringing together the major oil producers and consumers of Asia. Crediting Saudi Arabia with strengthening this linkage, Aiyar said: “With India hosting the first, the question was who should host the second such conference? Saudi Arabia took the initiative and this set the ball rolling, with Japan offering to host the third and so on. Saudi Arabia contributed to validating the Asian round-table concept.”
With Aiyar’s eyes set on long-term Indo-Saudi cooperation, his present Saudi Arabia visit is a major step in this direction. When probed for Asked whether any agreements are likely to be inked during this visit, he said that those would be “minor steps” in furthering the two nations’ ties.
However, informed sources said the two countries are likely to sign memorandums of understanding during Aiyer’s visit.
Regarding his pipeline diplomacy, involving India, Pakistan and Iran, not being favored by United States, Aiyar said:” India has played its part in listening to what the US had to say. “ Beyond this, he emphatically said: “We have heard the objections. There is no alterative to our pipeline policy. There is no change in our position.”
This is Aiyar’s third visit to Saudi Arabia. He will be speaking on “Asian Energy Union” tomorrow evening at the International Energy Forum in Riyadh. He is scheduled to spend Tuesday night in the middle of Shaiba oil field.
