India-Saudi Bilateral Relations

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India-Saudi Arabia Bilateral Relations

India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoy close friendly relations reflecting the centuries old economic and socio-cultural ties. Diplomatic relations were established in 1947. The historic visit of His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to India in January 2006 was a watershed moment that resulted in the signing of the ‘Delhi Declaration’. It was followed by the ‘Riyadh Declaration’ in 2010 during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to the Kingdom, which elevated the bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership.

2. The visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Riyadh in April 2016 led to an enhanced and comprehensive cooperation in the political, economic, security and defence realms. During the visit, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud conferred the Kingdom’s highest civilian honor, the ‘King Abdulaziz Sash’, on the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The visit of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, to India in February 2019 further carried forward this momentum. During the visit, it was announced that the Kingdom would invest approximately USD 100 billion in India and 06 MoUs/Agreements were signed in various fields, including investment, tourism, housing, exchange of audio-visual programmes, and an agreement was signed to pave way for Saudi Arabia to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

3. Hon’ble Prime Minister visited Riyadh again on October 28-29, 2019, during which the Strategic Partnership Council Agreement was signed, establishing a high-level council to steer the bilateral relationship. 12 MoUs/Agreements were signed during this visit across several fields including energy, security, defence production, civil aviation, medical products, strategic petroleum reserves, small and medium scale industries, and training of diplomats. Hon’ble Prime Minister also delivered the keynote address at the 3rd Future Investment Initiative Summit.

4. His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince & Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, visited India on September 9-11, 2023 to participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit and to co-chair the 1st Leaders’ Meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council along with Hon’ble Prime Minister. During the visit, 08 MoUs/MoCs/Agreements were signed across several fields including energy, banking, investment, manufacturing, archival cooperation, anti-corruption and water desalination.

5. Hon’ble Prime Minister undertook a State Visit to the Kingdom on April 22, 2025. Hon’ble Prime Minister and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince & Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia held official talks at Jeddah, and exchanged views on bilateral, regional, and international issues. They also co-chaired the 2nd Leaders’ Meeting of the India–Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council. A Joint Statement was issued. Both sides agreed to collaborate on establishing two oil refineries in India. Four bilateral MoUs/Agreements in the fields of Space, Health, Sports (Anti-Doping) and Postal Cooperation were signed. The Strategic Partnership Council was expanded to four Ministerial Committees, namely: (1) Political, Consular & Security Cooperation Committee; (2) Defence Cooperation Committee; (3) Economy, Energy, Investment & Technology Committee; (4) Tourism & Cultural Cooperation Committee.

6. There have been regular high level exchanges between India and Saudi Arabia. In 2025 alone, nearly 35 ministerial and senior official-level interactions across various domains took place. A list of recent incoming/outgoing Ministerial visits may be seen at Annexure.

7. For the first time, an official delegation from the Saudi-India Parliamentary Friendship Committee of the Shura Council visited India in December 2025. India-Saudi Arabia Parliamentary Friendship Group has been constituted by the Indian Parliament in in February 2026.

Economic Cooperation

8. Bilateral trade ties have steadily grown over the years. India is the 2nd largest trade partner of Saudi Arabia whereas Saudi Arabia is the 5th largest trading partner of India. In FY 2024-25, bilateral trade stood at USD 41.88 billion, with Indian exports at USD 11.76 billion and imports at USD 30.12 billion. Major commodities of export from India to Saudi Arabia include engineering goods, rice, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles, food products, ceramic tiles. Major commodities which India imports from the Kingdom are crude oil, LPG, fertilizers, chemicals, plastic and products thereof.

09. The total Saudi investment in India including that of Saudi sovereign wealth fund - PIF, other Saudi companies and Saudi backed Vision Fund, has been about USD 10 billion. Major Saudi investors in India include ARAMCO (energy), Zamil Group (steel), Al Fanar (renewable energy), SABIC (chemicals), SALIC (food sector), Abdul Latif Jameel (auto sector) and Petromin (automobile solutions). Indian investment in KSA has increased in recent years reaching approximately USD 3 billion (August 2023). These investments are across diverse sectors such as consultancy services, construction projects, telecommunications, information technology, financial services and software development, pharmaceuticals, etc. There are over 6000 Indian companies registered in the Kingdom.

10. Two meetings of High Level Task Force on Investment (HLTFI) have take place, in July 2024 and in April 2025. HLTFI was agreed upon by both sides during the visit of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to India in September 2023, and is co-chaired by Principal Secretary to Hon’ble PM of India and HRH Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia. The first India-Saudi Investment Forum was organized on the sidelines of this visit, which was co-chaired by Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal (HCIM) and Saudi Minister of Investment Mr. Khalid Al Falih. More than 50 B2B and B2G MoUs/Agreements were signed during this Forum.

11. HCIM and HRH Saudi Energy Minister co-chaired the 2nd meeting of the Economic Committee under SPC in October 2024 in Riyadh. Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visited India in February 2025. On 12-13 November 2025, Saudi Investment Minister led a large business delegation to India for engagements with government and private entities. KSA was the Partner country at the World Food India 2025 held in New Delhi in September 2025. Saudi Minister of Transport & Logistic Services Saleh Al Jasser attended ‘WINGS INDIA 2026’ in Hyderabad.

Energy Partnership

12. India imported 33.14 MMT of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in FY 2024-25, which was 13.58% of the India’s total crude oil imports in FY 2024-25. India imported 3.34 MMT of LPG from Saudi Arabia in FY 2024-25, which was 14.99% of its India’s total LPG imports in 2024-25.

Defence Partnership

13. The bilateral defence partnership has strengthened in recent years. First ministerial visit on the defence side in over 12 years took place when Hon’ble MoS (Defence) Shri Ajay Bhatt visited Riyadh for the 2nd World Defence Show in February 2024. An agreement was signed for defence ammunition exports from India to Saudi Arabia worth USD 225 million during the visit. In February 2026, Hon’ble MoS (Defence) Shri Sanjay Seth attended the 3rd World Defence Show (WDS), where he inaugurated the India Pavillion, a first for WDS.

14. A new Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under the India–Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council was announced in April 2025. The 7th Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) meeting was held in New Delhi in August 2025. Inaugural Navy Staff Talks and Army Staff Talks were held in 2025.

15. Chief of General Staff of Saudi Armed Forces visited India in December 2025. It was the first official visit of Saudi CGS to India. Chief of Naval Staff of India visited the Kingdom in February 2018, followed by visit of Chief of Army Staff of India in December 2020. Chief of Naval Staff of Saudi Arabia also visited India in January 2024. He again visited in February 2026 to participate in the 9th IONS Conclave of Chiefs in Vishakhapatnam. A high level Saudi military delegation participated in Aero India 2025.

16. Two editions of the bilateral naval exercise ‘Al Mohed Al Hindi’ have been held, in 2021 and 2023. The first ever bilateral Land Force Exercise ‘EX-SADA TANSEEQ-I’ was held in 2024 in Rajasthan.

17. Training courses and capacity building initiatives constitute an important part of bilateral defence cooperation. 76 trainees from King Fahd Naval Academy of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces completed their Afloat Training Course at 1st Training Squadron (1TS) of the Indian Navy in July 2024. A Saudi delegation visited IFC-IOR in Gurugram for study tour (July 2025). A senior delegation from National Defence College of India visited Saudi on 01-03 September 2025 for a familiarisation tour. Indian Naval Ships regularly visit Saudi ports- INS Tamal and INS Surat made a port call at Jeddah in August 2025. ICGS Sarthak visited Dammam in December 2025.

Cultural Relations

18. India and Saudi Arabia enjoy a long history of cultural engagements. In recent years, bilateral cultural activities have accelerated in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. A new Ministerial Committee on Tourism and Cultural Cooperation under the Strategic Partnership Council was announced in April 2025. On 09 November 2025, bilateral MoU on Cultural Cooperation was signed in Riyadh during the visit of Hon’ble Minister of Tourism & Culture of India.

19. India was the Guest of Honour at the Saudi National Heritage Festival ‘Janadriyah’ in 2018. Yoga is growing popular in the Kingdom and is recognized as a Sport activity. Embassy also regularly organizes Yoga events, including celebrations of International Day of Yoga. In 2021, an MoU on Yoga Cooperation was signed between the Saudi Ministry of Sports and India’s Ministry of AYUSH. Saudi Yoga expert, Ms. Nouf Marwaai was awarded Padma Shri in 2018. On the occasion of the 10th International Day of Yoga in 2024, for the first time, a Saudi lady instructor led the common yoga protocol during the International Day of Yoga celebrations organized by the Embassy of India, Riyadh in collaboration with Saudi Ministry of Sports.

20. The Embassy partnered with Samskrita Bharati, a global organization dedicated to the promotion of the Sanskrit language, to organize an event in Riyadh in 2023 – ‘Samskritotsava’, consisting of songs, plays and recitations conducted entirely in Sanskrit. The event was specifically mentioned by Hon’ble PM in his November 2023 ‘Mann ki Baat’.

21. The Embassy has organized three editions of the Pravasi Parichay festival in Riyadh, with the active participation of the diaspora, showcasing Indian culture, art and music. The 3rd edition was organized on 28 October - 03 November 2025 in Riyadh with participation of over 1000 artists representing 20 Indian states. The festival included a special event – ‘Gita Mahotsav’, a musical drama showcasing the eternal message of Bhagvad Gita. Hon’ble Prime Minister mentioned the Gita Mahotsav event in the 128th episode of Mann Ki Baat.

22. In November 2025, Indian artists and cultural troupes performed at the ten-day long Indian cultural festival held at the Suwaidi Park in Riyadh under the Global Harmony initiative of Saudi government. India participated in the Red Sea International Film Festival held in Jeddah in December 2025. The Embassy organized a musical performance by Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan in February 2025 in Riyadh. Ebrahim Al Kazi Chair of Research was launched at the Saudi Centre for Research and Knowledge Intercommunication, Riyadh in April 2026, with support from Saudi Ministry of Culture.

Indian Community in Saudi Arabia

23. The Indian community in the Kingdom numbers at approximately 2.74 million and is a living bridge between the two countries. The contributions made by the Indian community to the development of Saudi Arabia are well acknowledged. A number of Indians living in KSA have received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards.

24. Labor-related cooperation in an important aspect of the bilateral relationship. In April 2025 and October 2025, the India-Saudi Joint Committee Meeting on Labor Cooperation were held. In March 2022, an Agreement on Skill Verification Program was signed between the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship of India, and Takamol holding, Ministry of Human Resources & Social Development of Saudi Arabia. The two countries have also signed the Agreement for Domestic Sector Workers in the year 2014 and the Agreement for General Category Workers in 2016.

25. The annual Hajj pilgrimage is another important component of India-Saudi Arabia bilateral relations. Annual quota for Indian Hajis is 175,025. Each year an average of 1.5 million Indian pilgrims perform Umrah. India has digitized the Hajj process by providing the Hajj mobile app, health facility-e-MASIHA, e-luggage pre-tagging, and linking the HGOs (Hajj Group Organizers) with the digital system, which has simplified the procedures for pilgrims.

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(May 31, 2026)

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