{"id":53510,"date":"2019-10-29T19:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T13:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=53510"},"modified":"2019-10-29T18:33:36","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T13:03:36","slug":"7-pm-29th-october-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-29th-october-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"7 PM | Prince and the PM| 29th October 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Context:\n<\/strong>India-Saudi\nArabia Relations<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More\nin news:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Prime Minister Narendra\nModi is in Riyadh on a two-day visit, during which he is scheduled to attend\nthe third edition of Saudi Arabia\u2019s high-profile annual financial conference\nand hold bilateral talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince\nMohammed bin Salman.<strong><\/strong><\/li><li>He will deliver the\nkeynote address under the title \u2018What\u2019s next for India?\u2019 at the Future\nInvestment Initiative, popularly known as &#8220;Davos in the Desert&#8221;.<\/li><li>During Modi\u2019s visit,\nIndia and Saudi Arabia will sign an agreement on establishing the India-Saudi\nArabia Strategic Partnership Council, in a bid for strategic depth and focus to\ntheir growing relationship.&nbsp;<strong><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>India\nand Saudi Arabia Relations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Political Relations:<\/strong><\/li><li>India\nand Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial and friendly relations reflecting the centuries\nold economic and socio-cultural ties. The establishment of diplomatic\nrelations in 1947 was followed by high-level visits from both sides.<\/li><li>In the\nrecent times, the historic visit of King Abdullah to India in 2006 resulted in\nsigning of \u2018Delhi Declaration\u2019 imparting a fresh momentum to the\nbilateral relationship. The visit provided the framework for cooperation in all\nfields of mutual interest. <\/li><li>The\nreciprocal visit by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia in 2010\nraised the level of bilateral engagement to \u2018Strategic Partnership\u2019 and\nthe \u2018Riyadh Declaration\u2019 signed during the visit captured the spirit of\nenhanced cooperation in political, economic, security and defence realms.<\/li><li>The\nvisit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Riyadh from April 2-3, 2016 could be\nseen as a turning point in our growing engagements with the Kingdom of Saudi\nArabia, which has taken an upward strategic direction.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Economic &amp; Commercial Relations:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li><li>Saudi\nArabia is our 4th largest trade partner and is a major source of energy as we\nimport around 18 % of our crude oil requirement from the Kingdom. <\/li><li>In\n2018-19 (As per Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)), the India-Saudi\nbilateral trade has increased by 23.83 % to US $ 34.03 billion. During this\nperiod, our imports from Saudi Arabia reached USD 28.47 billion, registering an\nincrease of 29.04 % over previous year whereas our exports to Saudi Arabia\nreached USD 5.55 billion registering an increase of 2.61 % over previous year.<\/li><li>The\ncurrent bilateral trade (April &#8211; August, 2019 provisional figures) is valued\nUSD 14.06 billion. <\/li><li>According\nto Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), there are 322 Indian\ncompanies as joint ventures\/100% owned entities of worth USD 1.4 billion in the\nKingdom till Dec, 2017. <\/li><li>Major\nIndian Companies such as L&amp;T, TATAs, Wipro, TCS, TCIL, Shapoorji &amp; Pallonji,\netc. have established strong presence in Saudi Arabia. SAGIA is in talks with\nIndian Start-Ups such as OYO, Delhivery, Firstcry, Grofers, Policy Bazaar,\nPaytm to enter the Saudi market.<\/li><li>Saudi\nArabia is the 15th&nbsp;largest market in the world for Indian exports and is\ndestination to 1.85% (2017-18) of India\u2019s global exports. <\/li><li>On the\nother hand, Saudi Arabia is the 3rd&nbsp;largest source (4.74% in 2017-18) of\nIndia\u2019s global imports. <\/li><li>For\nSaudi Arabia, as per 2017 data, India is the 4th&nbsp;largest market for its\nexports, accounting for 8.88 % of its global exports. In terms of imports by\nSaudi Arabia, India ranks 7th&nbsp;and is source of around 4.13 % of Saudi\nArabia\u2019s total imports.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Cultural Relations:<\/strong><\/li><li>A\ncultural delegation visited the Kingdom to participate in the \u2018Indian Cultural\nWeek\u2019, organized in Riyadh in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Culture\nin 2012.<\/li><li>India\nsuccessfully participated as \u2018Guest of Honour\u2019 in the 32nd edition of the\nprestigious Saudi National Festival of Heritage and Culture \u2013 Janadriyah in\nFebruary 2018. Former External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj jointly\ninaugurated the India Pavilion with His Majesty King Salman. The India pavilion\ncomprised the friendship wall, traditional &amp; contemporary India, business\nstalls, states part, flavours of India and information desk.<\/li><li>Yoga\nwas announced as a \u2018sports activity\u2019 in November 2017. <\/li><li>4th&nbsp;International\nDay of Yoga was celebrated on June 21, 2018 with enthusiasm and fervor in the\nprestigious Al-Madi Park of the King Abdulaziz Historical Centre, Riyadh with\nfull support of the Saudi authorities. This marked the first celebration of\nYoga in public domain in the Kingdom. <\/li><li>Since\nthen, the event witnessed huge participation from Saudis, diplomatic corps,\nofficials, journalists, businessmen and Indian diaspora.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Indian Community in Saudi Arabia:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2.7\nmillion (as of Dec, 2018) strong Indian community in Saudi Arabia is the\nlargest expatriate community in the Kingdom and is the \u2018most preferred\ncommunity\u2019 due to their expertise, sense of discipline, law abiding and peace\nloving nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Saudi Arabia&#8217;s Future Investment\nInitiative, popularly known as &#8220;Davos in the Desert&#8221;:<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It seeks to elevate Saudi Arabia\u2019s international\neconomic engagement and was launched in 2017. <\/li><li>It is part of Prince Mohammed\u2019s efforts to\nrapidly transform Saudi economy under the \u201cVision 2030\u201d that he unveiled in\n2016.<strong><\/strong><\/li><li>Saudi Arabia\u2019s economic transformation envisaged\nby Prince Mohammed, also known by his initials MbS, is ambitioned to diversify\nthe Saudi economy from its historical reliance on the oil business and develop\nmanufacturing and service sectors through liberalisation at home, and deeper\nintegration with the world. <\/li><li>It is founded on a tripod &#8211; the kingdom\u2019s special\nstatus in the Arab and Islamic worlds, its strategic location at the\ntrijunction of Africa, Europe and Asia, and its expansive investment\ncapability. <\/li><li>The objective is to generate significant and\nsustainable benefits for the young and rapidly growing Saudi population.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Some\nimportant initiatives by Saudi Arabia:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There\nis an attempt to turn Saudi Aramco, the national oil producing company, into a\nglobal conglomerate. <\/li><li>Other\nreforms include easing the restrictions on foreign direct investment, promoting\ntourism and the entertainment industry, development of the debt market, a\nbankruptcy law, introduction of VAT to enhance non-oil revenue generation, cuts\nin water and power subsidies, cash handouts to the needy, and a massive\nanti-corruption campaign.<\/li><li>Saudi\nArabia is now ranked 62 in the global rankings, just above India. The World\nBank, in its latest report on the ease of doing business, offered praise for\nSaudi Arabia\u2019s economic reforms and named the kingdom one of the top ten\n\u201cglobal business climate improvers\u201d in 2019. <\/li><li><strong>Social\nreforms: <\/strong><\/li><li>limiting the power of the religious police in\npublic places<\/li><li>granting more rights to women<\/li><li>lifting the 35-year-old ban on cinema halls<\/li><li>letting restaurants play music and permitting\nlarge music concerts.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Scope\nfor India:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Given\nthe deep interconnections between the Gulf and the Subcontinent, the drift\ntowards conservatism in the Arabian peninsula has had multiple negative effects\non India and its neighbours, especially in altering the balance between\nreligion, politics and the state. The reform of the Saudi society, at the very\nheart of the Islamic world, will hopefully help to reverse some of these\nnegative effects.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The\nreform agenda of Prince Mohammed offers an opportunity for the PM to lend the\nrelationship a durable strategic dimension.<\/li><li>The MbS\nimpact on Saudi Arabia\u2019s international policies is already evident in the\ngrowing Saudi interest to deploy massive capital into India. Aramco\u2019s decision\nto take a large stake in the oil business of Reliance could be the beginning of\na new economic era in bilateral relations if Delhi can create the conditions\nfor rapid growth in Saudi investments in India.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/columns\/narendra-modi-saudi-arabia-visit-mohammed-bin-salman-al-saud-6092232\/\">https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/columns\/narendra-modi-saudi-arabia-visit-mohammed-bin-salman-al-saud-6092232\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context: India-Saudi Arabia Relations More in news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Riyadh on a two-day visit, during which he is scheduled to attend the third edition of Saudi Arabia\u2019s high-profile annual financial conference and hold bilateral talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He will deliver the keynote&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-29th-october-2019\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">7 PM | Prince and the PM| 29th October 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704936211},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}