Skip to main content

Saudi Arabia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Persian Gulf 2018

Part of the book series: Persian Gulf ((PEGU))

  • 209 Accesses

Abstract

The Indo-Saudi relations are passing through an exceptional transformative phase. Without much public statement and declaration, both have been conveying the importance they attach to the other and are developing a holistic and strategic partnership. Trade, energy, expatriates, haj, and remittances have been the core of bilateral relations but during the past four years, two-way investments and security cooperation have emerged as priority areas. The change of guard in India (May 2014) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (January 2015) has resulted in a fresh dynamics in understanding each other’s concerns, leading to greater political engagements, and accommodations. Though 2017 was a relatively quieter year with regard to high-level exchanges, the contours of the bilateral relations are marked towards strengthening security and defence cooperation and enhancing of the two-way investments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Al-Arabiya. 2017. ‘Mohammed Bin Salman’s Full Interview’, 3 May, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2017/05/03/Read-the-full-transcript-of-Mohammed-Bin-Salman-s-interview.html#, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  2. 2.

    Hubbard, Ben. 2011. ‘Billionaire Saudi Prince, Alwaleed bin Talal, Is Freed from Detention’, The New York Times, 27 January, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-alwaleed-bin-talal.html, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  3. 3.

    Kings since 1953: Saud bin Abdulaziz (1953–1964); Faisal bin Abdulaziz (1964–1975); Khalid bin Abdulaziz (1975–1982); Fahd bin Abdulaziz (1982–2005); Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (2005–2015); Salman bin Abdulaziz (since January 2015).

  4. 4.

    Quamar, Md. Muddassir. 2017. ‘The Succession Gamble in Saudi Arabia’, The Week, 30 June, https://www.theweek.in/content/archival/news/world/the-succession-gamble-in-saudi-arabia.html#, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  5. 5.

    Aburish, Said K. 1994. The Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud. London: Bloomsbury; also see: Jahanbegloo, Ramin. 2017. ‘The Fall of the House of Saud’, The Wire, 13 November, https://thewire.in/external-affairs/saudi-arabia-purge-fall-of-house-of-saud, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  6. 6.

    Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030. ‘Vision: Foreword’, http://vision2030.gov.sa/ar/node, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  7. 7.

    Jadwa Investment. 2018. ‘The Saudi Economy in 2018’, 4 February, http://www.jadwa.com/en/researchsection/research/economic-research/macroeconomic-reports, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  8. 8.

    Kassem, Mahmoud. 2017. ‘Saudi Arabia’s Economy Likely to Dip This Year, Says Institute of International Finance’, The National, 12 August, https://www.thenational.ae/business/saudi-arabia-s-economy-likely-to-dip-this-year-says-institute-of-international-finance-1.619067, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  9. 9.

    Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. 2018. ‘Economic Indicators’, http://www.sama.gov.sa/en-US/Pages/default.aspx, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  10. 10.

    Reuters. 2016. ‘Saudi Arabia to Raise Military Spending 6 pct Budget’, 22 December, https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-economy-budget-military/saudi-arabia-to-raise-military-spending-6-pct-budget-idUSL5N1EH3CU, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  11. 11.

    Ibid.

  12. 12.

    Defence World. 2017. ‘Saudi Arabia Signs Agreement with Russia to buy S-400 Air Defence System, Other Weapons’, 5 October, http://www.defenseworld.net/news/20865/Saudi_Arabia_Signs_Agreement_With_Russia_To_Buy_S_400_Air_Defence_System__Other_Weapons#.WxkGETSFPcs, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  13. 13.

    Knoema, World Data Atlas. ‘Arms Imports in Constant Prices of 1990’, https://knoema.com/atlas/ranks/Arms-imports?baseRegion=SA, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  14. 14.

    Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 2018. ‘Military Expenditure by Country as Percentage of Gross Domestic Product, 2003–2017’, SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/3_Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932017%20as%20a%20share%20of%20GDP.pdf, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  15. 15.

    Knoema, World Data Atlas. ‘Saudi Arabia – Armed Forces Personnel As a Share of Labour Force’, https://knoema.com/atlas/Saudi-Arabia/topics/National-Defense/Armed-forces/Armed-forces-personnel-as-a-share-of-labor-force, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  16. 16.

    United Nations Development Programme. 2016. ‘Saudi Arabia: Human Development Indicators’, http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/SAU, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  17. 17.

    Karim, Umer. 2017. ‘The Evolution of Saudi Foreign Policy and the Role of Decision-making Processes and Actors’, The International Spectator, 52 (2): 71–88.

  18. 18.

    UN News. 2017. ‘After 1,000 Days of Conflict, Yemen Sliding into “Deepening Catastrophe”, UN Agencies Warn’, 30 December, https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/12/640802-after-1000-days-conflict-yemen-sliding-deepening-catastrophe-un-agencies-warn, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  19. 19.

    United Nations Security Council. 2018. ‘Amid Deteriorating Conditions in Yemen, Security Council Presidential Statement Calls for Humanitarian Access, Strict Adherence to Embargo’, in Meetings Coverage, https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13250.doc.htm, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  20. 20.

    al-Jubeir, Adel Bin Ahmed. 2016. ‘Can Iran Change?’, The New York Times, 19 January, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/19/opinion/saudi-arabia-can-iran-change.html, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  21. 21.

    Asharq Al-Awsat. 2018. ‘Jeddah Ministerial Meeting Calls on Iran to Stop Fuelling Sectarianism’, 22 January, https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1151246/jeddah-ministerial-meeting-calls-iran-stop-fueling-sectarianism, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  22. 22.

    Marcus, Jonathan. 2017. ‘Israel and Saudi Arabia: What’s Shaping the Covert “Alliance”’, BBC News, 24 November, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42094105, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  23. 23.

    Winter, Chase. 2017. ‘Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance: Counterterrorism or Counter-Iran?’, Deutsche Welle, 26 November, http://www.dw.com/en/saudi-led-islamic-military-alliance-counterterrorism-or-counter-iran/a-41538781, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  24. 24.

    Quamar, Md. Muddassir. 2013. ‘Education as a Ladder for Saudi Women: An Overview’, Journal of Arabian Studies, 3 (2): 262–77.

  25. 25.

    A Female deputy minister for labour affairs was appointed in October 2017.

  26. 26.

    UNDP, ‘Saudi Arabia’.

  27. 27.

    Tarabay, Jamie. 2017. ‘Women in Saudi Arabia Still Can’t Do These Things’, CNN, 6 December, http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/27/middleeast/saudi-women-still-cant-do-this/index.html, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  28. 28.

    Bleiker, Carla. 2017. ‘Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia: A Timeline’, Deutsche Welle, 29 October, http://www.dw.com/en/womens-rights-in-saudi-arabia-a-timeline/g-40709135, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  29. 29.

    Human Rights Watch. 2017. ‘“They Are Not Our Brothers” Hate Speech by Saudi Officials’, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/saudi0917_web.pdf, last accessed on 1 July 2018; and Al-Jazeera. 2017. ‘HRW: Saudi Arabia Hate Speech Still Targets Minorities’, 26 September, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/hrw-saudi-arabia-hate-speech-target-minorities-170926082722213.html, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  30. 30.

    Kumaraswamy, P.R. and Md. Muddassir Quamar. 2019. India’s Saudi Policy: Bridge to the Future. New Delhi: Palgrave Macmillan.

  31. 31.

    Hazaimeh, Hani. 2016. ‘No Government Payment to Firms Until They Clear Expat Dues’, Arab News, 9 August, http://www.arabnews.com/node/966276/saudi-arabia, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  32. 32.

    Paul, Katie. 2017. ‘Saudi King Salman Launches Investment Drive with Asia Tour’, Reuters, 24 February, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-asia/saudi-king-salman-launches-investment-drive-with-asia-tour-idUSKBN1631P0, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  33. 33.

    Government of India (GoI), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). 2016. ‘India–Saudi Arabia Joint Statement during the Visit of Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia’, 3 April, http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/26595/IndiaSaudi+Arabia+Joint+Statement+during+the+visit+of+Prime+Minister+to+Saudi+Arabia+April+03+2016, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  34. 34.

    GoI, MEA. 2017. ‘Official Statement on Terrorist Attack Near the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on 23 June 2017’, 25 June, http://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/28594/official+statement+on+terrorist+attack+near+the+grand+mosque+in+mecca+saudi+arabia+on+23+june+2017, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  35. 35.

    GoI, MEA. 2017. ‘Statement on Missile Attack at Riyadh Airport’, 8 November, http://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/29096/statement+on+missile+attack+at+riyadh+airport, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  36. 36.

    GoI, MEA, ‘India-Saudi Arabia Joint Statement during the visit of Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia’.

  37. 37.

    Spandan. 2017. ‘News Flash’, November, 1 (2), http://www.indianembassy.org.sa/images/documents/SPANDAN-NOVEMBER-ISSUE-2.pdf, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  38. 38.

    GoI, Ministry of Defence. 2017. Annual Report 2016–17, https://mod.gov.in/sites/default/files/AnnualReport1617.pdf, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  39. 39.

    Saudi Gazette. 2017. ‘Saudi Cadets Set Out for Training in India’, 17 December, http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/524026/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-cadets-set-out-for-training-in-India, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  40. 40.

    Embassy of India, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 2017. ‘Visit of Indian Coast Guard Ship SAMARTH’, 8 November, http://www.indianembassy.org.sa/news-and-events/307-samarth, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  41. 41.

    GoI, MEA. 2016. ‘India-Saudi Arabia Joint Statement during the visit of Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia’.

  42. 42.

    The Hindu Business Line. 2013. ‘Saudi Firm Sabic Opens Rs 624-cr Technology Centre in Bangalore’, 29 November, https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/Saudi-firm-Sabic-opens-Rs-624-cr-technology-centre-in-Bangalore/article20694297.ece, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  43. 43.

    Saudi Aramco. 2017. ‘Saudi Aramco Expands Presence in India with Opening of New Aramco Asia India Office’, 8 October, http://www.saudiaramco.com/en/home/news-media/news/india-office.html, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  44. 44.

    Zhdannikov, Dmitry and Ernest Scheyder. 2017. ‘India Could Invest in Aramco IPO to Strengthen Ties’, Reuters, 23 May, https://in.reuters.com/article/india-oil-aramco-idINKBN18I2DJ, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  45. 45.

    GoI, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. ‘FDI Statistics’, http://dipp.nic.in/publications/fdi-statistics, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  46. 46.

    Financial Express. 2017. ‘Saudi Arabia to Invest $ 3,000 Billion in next 4–5 years: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’, 9 October, http://www.financialexpress.com/economy/saudi-arabia-to-invest-300-billion-in-next-4-5-years-niti-aayog-ceo-amitabh-kant/887827, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  47. 47.

    Embassy of India, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 2017. ‘India–Saudi Arabia Bilateral Relations’, August, http://www.indianembassy.org.sa/india-saudi-arabia/india-saudi-bilateral-relations, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  48. 48.

    Ibid.

  49. 49.

    GoI, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Export-Import Data Bank, http://dgftkolkata.wb.nic.in, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  50. 50.

    The Economic Times. 2016. ‘Iran Overtakes Saudi to Become India’s Top Crude Supplier’, 17 November, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/iran-overtakes-saudi-to-becomes-indias-top-crude-oil-supplier/articleshow/55481064.cms, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  51. 51.

    GoI, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Export-Import Data Bank, http://dgftkolkata.wb.nic.in, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  52. 52.

    The Economic Times. 2018. ‘Saudi Keen to Have Stake in West Coast, Kakinada Project: Dharmendra Pradhan’, 23 February, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/saudi-keen-to-have-stake-in-west-coast-kakinada-project-dharmendra-pradhan/articleshow/63046262.cms, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  53. 53.

    Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. 2018. ‘Indian Consortium and Saudi Aramco Sign MoU for Ratnagiri Mega Refinery in Maharashtra’, 11 April, http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=178581, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  54. 54.

    Pew Research Center. 2018. ‘Remittance Flows Worldwide in 2016’, 23 January, http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/02/20/remittance-map, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  55. 55.

    Thakur, Atul. 2018. ‘India Retains Long-held Position of Top Remittance Destination of Migrants’, The Times of India, 25 April, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-retains-long-held-position-of-top-remittance-destination-of-migrants/articleshow/63903300.cms, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  56. 56.

    Menon, Shailesh. 2017. ‘How Economic Downturn in Gulf States has Resulted in a Drop in Remittances into India’, The Economic Times, 5 November, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/forex-and-remittance/how-economic-downturn-in-gulf-states-has-resulted-in-a-drop-in-remittances-into-india/articleshow/61511605.cms, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  57. 57.

    India, Lok Sabha. 2017. ‘Expatriate Levy by Saudi Arabia’, Unstarred Question No. 610, 19 July, http://www.mea.gov.in/lok-sabha.htm?dtl/28649/quesion+no610+expatriate+levy+by+saudi+arabia, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  58. 58.

    Hussain, Zakir. 2014. ‘Nitaqat – The Second Wave of Saudi-isation: Implications for India’, ICWA Issue Brief, https://icwa.in/icwa_hindi/pdfs/IBsecondwaveof.pdf, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  59. 59.

    India, Rajya Sabha, “Indian employees forced to leave Saudi Arabia”, Starred Question No. 242, 8 December 2016, http://www.mea.gov.in/rajya-sabha.htm?dtl/27786/question+no242+indian+employees+forced+to+leave+saudi+arabia (last accessed on 1 July, 2018).

  60. 60.

    India, Rajya Sabha 2017. ‘Retrenched Indian Workers in Saudi Arabia’, Unstarred Question No. 819, 9 February, http://www.mea.gov.in/rajya-sabha.htm?dtl/28052/question+no819+retrenched+indian+workers+in+saudi+arabia, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  61. 61.

    The Indian Express. 2017. ‘How Saudi Arabia’s Expat Dependent Tax Will Affect Indian families’, 21 June, http://indianexpress.com/article/world/how-saudi-arabias-expat-dependent-tax-will-affect-families-4715608, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  62. 62.

    GoI, MEA. Annual Report, 2016–2017. New Delhi, p. 73.

  63. 63.

    GoI, MEA. 2017. ‘India–Saudi Arabia Bilateral Relations’, http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/India-Saudi_Bilateral_Relations_Aug__2017.pdf, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

  64. 64.

    Ghosh, Abantika. 2018. ‘Haj Subsidy Discontinued: Credit for Phasing it out Goes to Supreme Court’, The Indian Express, 17 January, http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/haj-subsidy-haj-india-modi-mukhtar-abbas-naqvi-5027434, last accessed on 1 July 2018.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kumaraswamy, P.R., Quamar, M., Singh, M. (2019). Saudi Arabia. In: Persian Gulf 2018. Persian Gulf. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1978-5_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics