189reports of exploitation by employment agents in India who feed false
information about salary, working conditions or the nature of work. Like
other countries of the world, the Saudi labour laws are favourable to
national employees and do not always protect the expatriates’ rights. A
recurring problem has been the Kafala (sponsorship) system which pre-
vents the migrant workers from changing his/her job without the consent
of the original employer on whose work visa he/she came to the Kingdom.
To mitigate the problem, during the visit of Prime Minister Modi in April
2016 an agreement on labour cooperation was signed to streamline the
recruitment of the general category of workers and prevent exploitation.
ConCluSion
In terms of economy, energy and expatriates, the Kingdom has been impor-
tant to India for long, especially after the oil boom. They flourished even in
the absence of close convergence of interests or limited political interactions.
They provide a stable economic basis for the bilateral relations. The eco-
nomic reforms, accelerated demand for more energy resources and eco-
nomic growth have enhanced India’s relative importance vis-à-vis Saudi
Arabia. They also coincided with the Look East approach of the al-Sauds
spurred by a host of regional and international developments. Since the visit
of King Abdullah to India in 2006, both countries have recognized that lack
of sustained political engagements had resulted in both countries maintain-
ing only a buyer-seller relation dominated by the energy trade. While com-
mercial commitments can be continued without any political component,
the transformation of the economic element into strategic partnership pre-
supposes an active political involvement and direction which would make
the relations more holistic, inclusive and two-way process. In pursuing this
path, India, however, faces many challenges and competition from other
regional and international powers.
referenCeS
Abraham, R. (2012). India and its diaspora in the Arab Gulf countries: Tapping
into effective “soft power” and related public diplomacy. Diaspora Studies,
5 (2), 124–146.
Ahmad, M. (1969). Indo-Arab Relations: An Account of India’s Relations with the
Arab World from Ancient up to Modern Times Part I. New Delhi: Popular
Prakashan.
ENERGY, ECONOMICS AND EXPATRIATES