Notwithstanding the non-official participation of Saudi Arabia at the G20 tourism meeting held in Srinagar on May 24-25, Indian and Saudi naval forces were together enjoying war games in the Persian Gulf off Al-Jubail during the same time. The second edition of 'Exercise Al-Mohed Al-Hindi' India-Saudi Arabia joint naval exercise, which commenced on May 21 and concluded on May 25, signalled growing proximity between Indian and Saudi defence forces.
The joint exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces aimed to enhance maritime security, promote information sharing and improve inter-operability between the two naval forces. According to an Indian naval official, the maritime cooperation contributes to regional stability in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf region fostering trust, collaboration and a secure environment. When Indian warships — INS Tarkash and INS Subhadra — reached Al-Jubail port for the exercise, the developing bonhomie between the two countries was demonstrated by the warm reception extended to them by the Saudi Royal Naval forces and the Saudi Guards.
Reflecting the deepening friendly relations between the two countries, the war games involved a series of joint land and sea exercises. The exercise comprised several shore and sea-based drills between the navies of the two countries. The exercise also incorporated electronic warfare drill to promote interoperability between the two navies. The decision to conduct joint naval exercises was taken during India-Saudi Arab summit in Riyadh in 2019, after which the first India Saudi Arabia war-games were conducted in August 2021.The first ever joint naval exercise heralded a new chapter in the bilateral defence ties between two nations.
'Top Priority' Relationship
The Saudi Kingdom began warming up its defence ties with India in 2014 when during the Riyadh visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi, the two nations initialled a landmark MoU on defence cooperation. This entailed joint military exercises between two nations and training of Saudi sailors and soldiers in Indian military training establishments. Following this the then Indian Naval Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba visited the Kingdom in 2018 followed by General MM Naravane's Riyadh visit, the first by an Indian Army Chief. This visit raised the quality and level of bilateral defence cooperation.
Terming the relationship with India a "top priority", Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Farhan Al-Saud had then said that the relationship between both nations has grown exponentially, adding that there is a need for measurable progress in all sectors of bilateral ties, especially trade and economics. Detailing the visit of Gen. Naravane, the Indian army had then said this was aimed at "assuming excellent defence cooperation between the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and India through multiple meetings with senior functionaries of security establishment and exchange of views on various defence related issues".
Based on the increased level of trust the Saudis chose Indian naval training establishment for first ever training programme of 55 of its Royal Saudi Naval cadets for 24-day training in India’s premier naval training command at Kochi, Kerala, which began in the third week of May. Commenting on this training, the Southern Naval command said that the program marks “major stride toward mutual cooperation". Growing defence cooperation and strategic understanding and trust between two countries have perhaps encouraged Saudi authorities to give green signal for direct train link between India and Saudi Arabia.
The idea gained traction after the last early May interaction between National Security Advisors of India, Saudi Arabia, UAE and US on developing a railway infrastructure. This project will connect the Arab countries with gulf region through a railway network, which will connect to India through seaports in the Gulf. It is expected that this will reduce and counter China’s rising influence in the region. India is expected to play a major role in the development of this very ambitious connectivity plan. Saudi Arabia would be a major promoter of this connectivity project.
These moves are in the spirit of the Strategic Partnership Council setup in October, 2019, which established a High-level council to steer the Indo-Saudi relationship. The Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) has two sub-committees — Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation and Committee on Economy and Investments. Both sub-committees have four functional levels of engagements – Summit level, Ministerial-level, Senior Officials’ Meetings and Joint Working Groups (JWGs).
Four JWGs have been formed under each sub-committee. These wide range of engagements between the two countries are pushing them towards giving a stronger foundation to India-Saudi relations. These interactions have led to $100 Billion investment commitment, which also includes the proposed investment of US$ 44 billion ‘West Coast Refinery & Petrochemicals Project’ in Maharashtra, which is being jointly built by Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and an Indian consortium, which includes Indian Oil companies.
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Opportunity For Indian Defence Industry
In the renewable energy sector also, the Saudi companies have stepped in. Saudi Company Al-Fanar has a controlling stake in 600MW Wind Power projects in India. Saudi Aramco is also in discussions with Reliance Industries to acquire a 20% stake in its oil-to-chemicals business for an approximate value of US$15 billion. Roughly 2.2 million strong Indian community is the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom and is highly respected due to their professionalism, as well as law abiding and peaceful nature. The contributions made by the Indian community to the development of Saudi Arabia are acknowledged by the Saudi authorities. In the Gulf region Indian armed forces have developed a string of bilateral defence ties which include Oman, Qatar and UAE. Saudis are the latest addition in the ring of alliances that Indian forces have developed in recent years.
Traditionally India’s relations with the West Asian region were primarily focussed on energy and expatriates, but defence and security cooperation has emerged as driver of deeper economic and strategic relations. India’s defence diplomacy in West Asia is thus bearing fruit, which needs to be pushed further. These burgeoning defence relations may also help in erasing the Pakistani narrative on Kashmir. Also, the region can prove to be a major market for defence equipment and systems produced in India. India’s deepening defence relations and strategic understanding with West Asian region offers a golden opportunity for Indian defence industry, which can invite investments from the region for joint ventures.
The author is a senior journalist and strategic affairs analyst.
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