NEW DELHI // The crown prince of Saudi Arabia arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday on a trip to seal security, energy and business agreements with India.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s three-day visit highlights growing ties between two countries bound together by a vast Indian expatriate workforce and India’s reliance on Saudi oil.
Prince Salman, the highest-level Saudi dignitary to visit India since King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2006, is expected to meet president Pranab Mukherjee, prime minister Manmohan Singh, and vice president Hamid Ansari.
The two countries also aim to increase cooperation in “areas ranging from hydrocarbons to security”, according to a release from the Saudi embassy in New Delhi.
The Saudi delegation will sign a memorandum to increase defence sector cooperation amid shifting power balances in the region.
Although details of the defence deal are not yet known, India is only too aware that two weeks ago Saudi Arabia pledged to deepen strategic military ties with Pakistan, its arch-rival.
Yet, Saudi Arabia and Arabian Gulf states have always shared close ties with India.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar are home to nearly seven million Indian expatriates who send home remittances worth US$30 billion (Dh110 billion) every year.
“The Gulf countries provide almost 60 per cent of our energy requirement,” Mridul Kumar, a joint secretary at India’s ministry of external affairs, said in a news conference last weekend. “The Gulf countries are our largest trading partner by far as a regional group. And we are looking at an annual trade of over $180 billion, which is almost 26 per cent of our global trade.”
But as Washington mends relations with Iran, and as Saudi Arabia and the United States face friction over Syria, geopolitics has pitched the Gulf countries even closer to India, said Kabir Taneja, a research scholar at the Takshashila Institution, a Chennai-based think tank.
“Saudi Arabia’s shift towards India has been happening for a couple of years now,” Mr Taneja told The National. “And the parameters of cooperation are broadening. They’re looking actively to invest now. Instead of just providing oil, they want a strategic partnership.”
“Our mutual development needs have added a new dimension to this relationship,” said Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesperson for India’s external affairs ministry. “We need energy from all sources, as well as investments, as our economic development gathers pace. On the other hand, we have a young, skilled population that can provide services which are needed for the growth of these countries.”
Apart from the defence sector, India and Saudi Arabia have been working together on several other fronts. Counter-terrorism is one of them, Mr Taneja said.
Saudi Arabia and India have shared intelligence, and Riyadh has deported alleged terrorists to India over the last two years, he said.
Infrastructure is another sector of cooperation. Riyadh’s metro rail network is being constructed by Larsen & Toubro, an Indian firm. The proposed Haramain High Speed Railway, linking Mecca and Medina, will be laid on rails from the Indian steel giant Tata Steel.
At the same time, India is trying to walk a delicate line in its relationships with rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif is expected to visit New Delhi on a two-day trip beginning Wednesday.
That neither Prince Salman or Mr Zarif has complained about the overlapping visits shows how important India is destined to become for both Saudi Arabia and Iran, Mr Taneja said.
“In 20 years’ time, when the United States and Europe become less reliant on the Gulf’s energy production, India, along with China, will become the predominant consumer,” he said. “The Gulf states are preparing for this future, and India is aware of it.”
However, the Indian government is “dreading having to make a choice between Saudi Arabia and Iran.” said Mr Taneja?
India imports 83 per cent of all the crude oil it consumes. Its main supplier is Saudi Arabia. But at the same time, India is keen to start tapping Iran’s reserves of natural gas. In 2012-13, India imported 13.14 million tons of crude from Iran, down from 18.11 million tons the previous year.
“So India is going to remain ambiguous for as long as possible,” Mr Taneja said. “And India will engage with everyone during this time, to keep its options open. India is thinking of the long term.”
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jsengupta@thenational.ae
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
