The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman arrived in India on a three-day State go to throughout which he attended the G20 Summit within the nationwide capital over the weekend. After collaborating within the G20 Summit, he held a bilateral assembly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday (11 September).
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and I had very productive talks. We reviewed our commerce ties and are assured that the business linkages between our nations will develop even additional within the occasions to return. The scope for cooperation in grid… pic.twitter.com/UalSTDmrTY
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 11, 2023
During the bilateral assembly, the 2 leaders co-chaired the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council. They mentioned all points of bilateral relations and worldwide problems with mutual curiosity. Following the bilateral assembly, Secretary (CPV & OIA) Ausaf Sayeed addressed the media concerning the problems coated within the assembly.
The MEA official introduced that through the Saudi crown prince’s state go to as many as eight agreements have been signed between the 2 nations. These embody agreements within the area of vitality; digitalisation and digital manufacturing; agreements between India’s CVC (Chief Vigilance Commission) and Saudi’s corruption oversight committee; National Archives of two sides; Invest India and Saudi’s Minister of Investment; Axim Banks; SIDBI and Saudi’s SME financial institution; and settlement within the area of desalination.
#WATCH | Secretary (CPV & OIA) Ausaf Sayeed briefs the media on the State go to of Crown Prince & PM of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
“I am happy to share with you that during this visit as many as eight agreements have been signed…” pic.twitter.com/P0vk2QUEF6
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2023
MEA official Sayeed added that the 2 sides additionally agreed to expedite the India-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) FTA (free commerce settlement) negotiations which can boast financial cooperation between each nations. Additionally, each side agreed to strengthen cooperation within the FinTech area and discover buying and selling within the native currencies.
#WATCH | Secretary (CPV & OIA) Ausaf Sayeed briefs the media on the State go to of Crown Prince & PM of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
“…The two sides additionally agreed to expedite the India-GCC FTA negotiations which they felt would act as a catalyst… pic.twitter.com/Av20trq2SY
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2023
He additional added that India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to collectively arrange a process drive that may assist in figuring out and channelling the 100 Billion Dollar investments which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had promised earlier.
#WATCH | Secretary (CPV & OIA) Ausaf Sayeed briefs the media on the State go to of Crown Prince & PM of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
“Both sides prolonged their full assist to the early implementation of the west coast refinery initiatives…The… pic.twitter.com/js19I0a6tz
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2023
The rising commerce ties between India and Saudi Arabia have strengthened the general strategic partnership between each nations. Notably, India is Saudi Arabia’s second-largest buying and selling accomplice whereas Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth-largest buying and selling accomplice.
India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor
The commerce hyperlink between each nations not too long ago obtained a serious increase within the type of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC). This formidable venture of a rail-shipping hall goals to determine India as a major world hub for worldwide enterprise and commerce by linking India, the Middle East, and the EU.
#WATCH | On the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, Secretary (CPV & OIA) Ausaf Sayeed says, “The two sides recognised this as one of many main outcomes of the G20. It is among the largest such plurilateral agreements connecting a number of international locations…It is definitely… pic.twitter.com/kAc91D1W2m
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2023
The oil-kingdom is marching towards the post-fossil gas world
Following the G20 Summit the place the announcement concerning IMEEC was made, a number of world leaders have hailed the launch of the brand new financial hall as an enormous increase for the worldwide economic system.
I’m proud to announce that the U.S., India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, France, Germany, Italy and EU finalized a historic settlement for a brand new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
This venture is about extra than simply laying tracks.
This is a game-changing regional funding. pic.twitter.com/JPbwFYcUeQ
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 9, 2023
Parallely, some consultants are calling it a slingshot that has the potential to problem and even smash the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) venture into smithereens.
MBS and diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economic system
Meanwhile, a number of consultants view Saudi’s cooperation on this venture and his state go to to India as half of a bigger strategic imaginative and prescient of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who’s on a spree to reform the Saudi Kingdom. Evidently, 38-year-old Saudi’s de-facto ruler who’s popularly identified by his initials MBS, has been calling the shot within the Kingdom for at the least 5 years. Under the MBS regime, the dominion has been diversifying the Saudi economic system in a world the place reliance on oil is diminishing.
In a post-fossil gas world, the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia goals not solely to protect its affect on the worldwide stage but additionally to emerge as a contemporary world energy.
Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is future-proofing its oil-based economic system by rising as an funding, sporting, and tourism hub. On the home entrance, he’s drawing funding and attraction for tourism in his formidable NEOM Project which might have a zero-carbon metropolis referred to as ‘The Line’ within the Northwestern area of the dominion.
Additionally, he has been luring world-class international professionals underneath the golden visa scheme. The scheme permits international buyers to relocate to Saudi Arabia by making a considerable funding within the nation’s economic system in change for a residence allow.
However, the outreach just isn’t restricted to luring funding and international professionals, MBS’ regime is utilizing its fats cheque to problem European hegemony in internet hosting profitable sporting leagues like soccer and lured a number of superstars this summer time together with Christiano Ronaldo, Mane, Gerrard, and Benzema amongst others. The purpose is to offer a transformative ‘tourist-friendly’ picture to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
MBS and the Kingdom’s coverage towards India
On the worldwide stage, MBS has vocally supported India, recognizing its burgeoning economic system as a profitable market with promising returns on funding. Additionally, MBS shares an amazing camaraderie with the Indian PM which displays sharply within the insurance policies of each nations in the direction of one another. Over the years, Saudi Arabia has been seen as a trusted Indian accomplice within the Middle East, and the strategic depth in ties was solidly marked when the Kingdom bestowed its highest civilian award ‘Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud’ to PM Narendra Modi.
As a part of its tilt, the Kingdom which as soon as leaned towards Pakistan, is now partnering with India in a number of sectors from house to intelligence sharing and the Kingdom was up in arms to host the first-ever go to of an Indian high-ranking protection officer in December 2020 when the then Chief of Army Staff Gen. M.M. Naravane commenced his historic go to to Saudi Arabia.
The 100 billion USD funding announcement in India was a part of his bigger plan to diversify past oil and funding sooner or later like retail, and real-estate sectors amongst others. Evidently, throughout his present state go to to India, MBS and PM Modi signed 47 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bolster funding in each international locations.
Saudi’s de-facto ruler MBS pushes for modernization: With give attention to spiritual and gender-based tolerance
An previous video of Saudi Crown Prince MBS is doing rounds on the web the place he’s promising to reform the complete area of the Middle East and guarantees that he’ll work to make the area the ‘New Europe’ in his lifetime.
In the video, MBS says, “I believe the Middle East will be the new Europe. In 5 years, Saudi Arabia will be a completely different country. This is the Saudi war. This is my war. I want to see the Middle East on top of the world before I die.”
Muhammed Bin Salman: I imagine the Middle East would be the new Europe. In 5 years, Saudi Arabia shall be a totally totally different nation.
“This is the Saudi battle. This is my battle. I need to see the Middle East on high of the world earlier than I die.#MBS #SaudiArabia #Europe #MiddleEast pic.twitter.com/qTSsSzq9hY
— Muhammad Abu Talha (@AbuTalha626) September 11, 2023
However, to attract funding, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has to bear a radical picture transformation from a hardline Sunni Islamist nation to that of a tolerant nation that respects Human Rights and tolerates a number of faiths.
For this, MBS has vowed that he’ll return Saudi Arabia on the trail of average Islam and shed the ultraconservative picture of the oil-rich kingdom.
In one interview, he stated, “What happened in the last 30 years is not Saudi Arabia. What happened in the region in the last 30 years is not the Middle East. After the Iranian revolution in 1979, people wanted to copy this model in different countries, one of them being Saudi Arabia. We didn’t know how to deal with it. And the problem spread all over the world. Now is the time to get rid of it.”
On reverting to average Islam, MBS as soon as stated, “We are simply reverting to what we followed – a moderate Islam open to the world and all religions. 70% of the Saudis are younger than 30, honestly, we won’t waste 30 years of our life combating extremist thoughts, we will destroy them now and immediately.”
To discourage hardcore theological practices, Saudi Arabia banned abaya within the examination halls and requested feminine college students to evolve to prescribed uniforms.
As a part of his soft-Islam push, Saudi Arabia is enhancing its credentials on tolerance be it spiritual or gender-based. Evidently, in 2018, the MBS regime lifted a ban on feminine drivers and expanded the rights of ladies within the nation. Subsequently, it has allowed hiring feminine drivers as a part of new professions permitted for recruitment by means of an official e-platform designated for home labour.
An analogous women-friendly push was witnessed when the Kingdom lifted the restrictions and allowed ladies to bear the Hajj pilgrimage with no ‘Mehram’.
From India alone, greater than 4,000 ladies carried out Hajj pilgrimage with no Mehram, marking a historic first.
As a part of MBS’ Vision 2030 and to enhance spiritual tolerance within the Kingdom, the MBS regime launched a brand new curriculum which incorporates Hindu epic Ramayana and Mahabharata. Additionally, different vital components of Indian tradition like yoga and Ayurveda have additionally been included within the college curriculum.
Coming out of shadows: Independent geopolitical clout
During the Presidential debates, Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden raked in a number of controversies that troubled the US relationship with the Saudi Kingdom when he assumed workplace in January 2020. These embody the alleged involvement of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman within the homicide of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Kingdom’s coverage of arming rebels in different international locations like Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has adopted insurance policies that mirror that it has a mind of its personal relatively than enjoying the function of junior alliance accomplice of the United States. The relationship worsened when the US ended its help to Saudi-led forces in Yemen in 2021.
As a outcome, Saudi Arabia refused to bow right down to US stress over the Ukraine battle and didn’t play together with US demand to manage oil provide as a substitute it has labored alongside Russia on this problem. In the quick aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine battle, when the USA was making an attempt its degree greatest to isolate Russia globally, there have been experiences that MBS simply refused to take Biden’s telephone calls, ignoring requests to pump up oil provides.
However, the most important hit to US curiosity is the gradual shift from the petro-dollar as Saudi Arabia has said that it’s open to transacting in non-US Dollar currencies. Apparently, this was additionally a serious problem that was mentioned when Saudi Prime Minister MBS met with PM Modi throughout his state go to.
It was on this context that through the G20 Summit in India, PM Modi ‘breaking the ice’ between MBS and Joe Biden, and the eventual announcement of the IMEEEC was seen as a major optimistic improvement.
#BREAKING: President Biden shakes arms with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), together with India’s PM Modi, on the #G20 Summit. pic.twitter.com/90c8NXblKe
— Forbes (@Forbes) September 9, 2023
Even on this geopolitical energy balancing, Saudi Arabia shares its bigger geopolitical pursuits with India and it not too long ago joined the BRICS the place India is an lively member of the grouping. During his present India go to, MBS has thanked PM Modi for accepting Saudi Arabia’s membership within the BRICS.
Overall, be it within the geopolitical area, funding alternatives, or rising spiritual tolerance within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the MBS regime may seemingly prove a promising signal for India by means of which the roads of Middle Eastern energy politics may very well be accessed higher than ever.
