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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Saudi Arabia next week at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
As per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the visit is likely for 22–23 April and will be PM Modi’s first trip to the Kingdom during his third term in office.
Prime Minister Modi has earlier visited Saudi Arabia twice – in 2016 and 2019.
This visit follows Mohammed bin Salman’s State Visit to India in September 2023, during which he attended the G20 Summit and co-chaired the inaugural meeting of the India–Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.
India and Saudi Arabia share historically close and friendly ties, with a legacy of cultural and trade exchanges.
Over the years, the partnership has expanded across a broad range of sectors, including:
- Politics,
- Defence,
- Security,
- Energy,
- Trade,
- Investment,
- Technology,
- Education,
- Health, and
- Cultural cooperation
According to the MEA, bilateral relations have strengthened considerably over the past decade.
High-level interactions have intensified, defence collaboration has expanded, and investment flows have increased, reflecting the growing strategic convergence between the two nations.
The Prime Minister’s visit reaffirms the value India places on its ties with Saudi Arabia.
The trip will likely enhance this multi-dimensional partnership and provide a platform for discussions on key regional and global matters of shared interest.
The visit comes at a time of evolving geopolitical developments. These include talks between the United States and Iran regarding Tehran’s nuclear programme. Additionally, there are continued tensions in West Asia due to the Hamas-Israel conflict.
It also precedes the expected visit of US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia next month.
India established diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia in 1947, and in 2010, the relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership.
Since the beginning of 2024, there have been 11 ministerial-level visits from India to Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister and Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visited India in November 2024 and February 2025, respectively.
Saudi Arabia also played a supportive role during Operation Kaveri, assisting with the evacuation of Indian nationals from Sudan through Jeddah.
Riyadh serves as the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with which India maintains regular engagement.
In September 2024, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Riyadh to co-chair the first India–GCC Ministerial Meeting.
Saudi Arabia is India’s fifth-largest trading partner, while India is the Kingdom’s second-largest.
In the 2023–24 financial year, bilateral trade reached USD 42.98 billion.
Indian exports valued at USD 11.56 billion, while imports from Saudi Arabia stood at USD 31.42 billion.
India exports items such as engineering goods, rice, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles, food products, and ceramic tiles. Imports from Saudi Arabia include crude oil, LPG, fertilisers, plastics, and chemicals.
Indian investment in Saudi Arabia has risen to around USD 3 billion as of August 2023, while Saudi investments in India total approximately USD 10 billion.
These investments span sectors such as consultancy, construction, telecommunications, software development, pharmaceuticals, and financial services.
In 2023–24, Saudi Arabia remained a major energy supplier to India. It was the third largest source of crude oil, accounting for 14.3 percent of India’s total crude imports at 33.35 million metric tonnes.
It was also the third-largest supplier of LPG, meeting 18.2% of India’s total LPG demand.
Defence ties between India and Saudi Arabia have seen notable progress in recent years.
A significant milestone reached in February 2024, when then Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt, visited Riyadh for the World Defence Show – the first such ministerial visit in over 12 years.
The two countries have also developed close naval cooperation, having conducted two editions of the bilateral naval exercise ‘Al Mohed Al Hindi’.
In addition, both sides collaborate actively in defence industries, joint training, and capacity-building programmes.
These developments underscore the deepening strategic partnership and mutual interest in maintaining regional stability and enhancing defence capabilities.
The Indian community in Saudi Arabia, estimated at 2.7 million, continues to be a vital link between the two countries.
Their contributions to the Kingdom’s economic development are widely acknowledged.
Over the past year, approximately 1,00,000 Indians have migrated to Saudi Arabia for employment, reflecting the sustained demand for Indian talent and expertise in the region.
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