
The visit of Saudi Prince to India has ushered in a new era in the relations between the two countries.
The fourth largest trading partner of India, Saudi Arabia is one of India’s important pivots in India’s foreign policy in West Asia.
This relationship with Saudi Arabia further consolidates India’s already developing ties with countries such as UAE and Qatar, among others.
In a country that hosts a 3 million-strong Indian community and is a source of substantial remittances that flow into the Indian economy, the visible bonhomie during the visit has demonstrated a new foreign policy direction for India with Saudi Arabia.
The two countries have also reached an agreement on a ‘Comprehensive Security Dialogue’ at the level of National Security Advisors while setting up a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism.
More importantly, on Saudi Arabia-Pakistan joint statement calling for avoiding “politicisation” of the UN listing regime, the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir has clarified that the phrase was not intended towards India’s efforts to get JeM chief Masood Azhar banned by the global body, underlining that anyone involved in terror should be proscribed and punished.