The strategic and multifaceted relationship between India and Saudi Arabia is set to receive a substantial boost during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the Kingdom next week.
Scheduled for April 22–23, the visit comes at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. This marks PM Modi’s third official visit to Saudi Arabia, following his previous trips in 2016 and 2019. It also follows the Crown Prince’s State Visit to New Delhi in September 2023, during which he co-chaired the inaugural meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) alongside attending the G20 Summit.
“India and Saudi Arabia share close and friendly ties, rooted in a long history of socio-cultural and trade connections. As strategic partners, the two countries maintain strong bilateral relations spanning various sectors including political, defence, security, trade, investment, energy, technology, health, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges,” stated the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The MEA further emphasized that bilateral ties have significantly matured over the past decade, developing into a robust partnership that now encompasses a broad range of strategic domains. This includes increased investment flows, deeper defence cooperation, and consistent high-level engagements.
According to the ministry, Prime Minister Modi’s upcoming visit underscores the importance India places on its relationship with Saudi Arabia. The visit is expected to offer an opportunity to deepen the comprehensive partnership and facilitate dialogue on regional and global matters of mutual concern.
Guided by the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, Prime Minister Modi has consistently acknowledged Saudi Arabia as one of India’s most critical partners in its extended neighbourhood.
Diplomatic relations between India and Saudi Arabia were established in 1947. In 2010, the relationship was officially elevated to a Strategic Partnership. The past decade, especially following PM Modi’s landmark visit to Riyadh in April 2016, has witnessed a significant expansion of this partnership. That visit notably led to enhanced cooperation in political, economic, security, and defence sectors, and PM Modi was honored with the Kingdom’s highest civilian award, the ‘King Abdulaziz Sash’, by King Salman.
The two nations agreed to establish the Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) during PM Modi’s October 2019 State Visit to Riyadh. The SPC operates through two main pillars — the Political-Security-Socio-Cultural (PSSC) and the Economic and Investment pillar. The PSSC is co-chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister and the Saudi Foreign Minister, while the economic component is jointly led by India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry and Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister.
The SPC structure includes eight Joint Working Groups (JWGs) and several sub-committees under both pillars, which convene regular official-level discussions to monitor and enhance cooperation.
The first SPC Summit was held in New Delhi in September 2023, co-chaired by PM Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the latter’s visit.
Since the beginning of 2024, there have been 11 ministerial-level visits exchanged between the two countries. Notably, the Saudi Foreign Minister and the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visited India in November 2024 and February 2025, respectively.
As Riyadh is also the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), India has maintained a productive dialogue with the GCC Secretariat. In September 2024, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar co-chaired the first India-GCC Ministerial Meeting in Riyadh.
On the economic front, Saudi Arabia stands as India’s fifth-largest trading partner, while India is the Kingdom’s second-largest trade partner. During the Financial Year 2023–24, India imported goods worth USD 31.42 billion from Saudi Arabia, while exports to the Kingdom totaled USD 11.56 billion.
India’s major exports to Saudi Arabia include engineering goods, rice, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles, food items, and ceramic tiles. Imports from Saudi Arabia are led by crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), fertilizers, chemicals, plastics, and related products.
Saudi investments in India, including those by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi companies, and the Saudi-backed Vision Fund, have reached approximately USD 10 billion. These investments span across sectors and include PIF stakes in Reliance Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, Oyo Hotels, and health tech startup Healthifyme. In addition, the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) has invested in Daawat Foods Limited, and SABIC has invested over USD 100 million in its technology and innovation center in Bengaluru.
Prominent Saudi investors in India include ARAMCO, Zamil Group, Al Fanar, and Petromin. Meanwhile, Indian investments in Saudi Arabia have also seen an upward trajectory, reaching approximately USD 3 billion as of August 2023. These span diverse sectors such as management consultancy, construction, telecom, IT, financial services, software development, and pharmaceuticals. Several leading Indian companies — including L&T, Tata Group, Wipro, TCS, TCIL, Shapoorji Pallonji, Air India, Go Air, Indigo, and SpiceJet — have a well-established presence in the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia was India’s third-largest source of crude oil and petroleum products in FY 2023–24, with imports totaling 33.35 million metric tons (MMT), which accounted for 14.3% of India’s total crude oil imports. During the same period, it was also India’s third-largest LPG supplier, contributing 18.2% of the country’s total LPG imports. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is a key supplier of fertilizers to India and is the second-largest source of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP).
The Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia is approximately 2.7 million strong and plays a vital role as a bridge between the two nations. Their contributions to the Kingdom’s economic development are well acknowledged. Over the past year alone, around 100,000 Indians migrated to Saudi Arabia for employment.
Religious pilgrimages are also a crucial element of the bilateral relationship. India’s annual Haj quota currently stands at 175,025 pilgrims, reflecting the deep people-to-people ties between the two countries.
