137Though the scope and nature of its knowledge economy are different
from similar efforts by Qatar and the UAE, India sees an opportunity in
the Kingdom’s efforts towards modernising its educational system. Hence,
it promised to “assist in setting up an ICT Centre of Excellence” and
other institutions of higher learning. Both also pledged to cooperate in
areas such as health services, tourism, agriculture research and cultural
exchanges.
Conscious of the traditional Saudi commitments to the Palestinian
cause, the Delhi Declaration “emphasized the importance of the Beirut
Arab Peace Intuitive (2002) and the Road Map (2003)” and felt that “the
complementarity between the two plans would invigorate the peace pro-
cess in the Middle East, and would lead to the establishment of a viable
and independent State of Palestine living in peace and prosperity within
secured borders side by side with Israel.” A formal reference to Israel in
Delhi Declaration came when countries like Kuwait avoided similar prac-
tice (India, MEA 2006b). Referring to the ongoing violence in Iraq, India
and Saudi Arabia hoped that “Iraq would turn a new page in history that
would assure its security, unity, territorial integrity and prosperity, and
respect for its sovereignty and independence.”
In short, though delayed King Abdullah’s visit established a framework
for a holistic cooperation in many political and economic arenas. As subse-
quent events proved, both sides did not walk the talk and hence the prog-
ress has been slow. The importance that India attached to Saudi Arabia
manifested when Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari represented India
during the funeral of King Abdullah in January 2015 (Sachdev 2015 ;
Taneja 2015 ).
riyadh declaration, 2010
The reciprocal Indian prime ministerial visit, the third since 1947, took
place shortly after Abdullah’s when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vis-
ited the Kingdom in February–March 2010. The three-day visit was pre-
ceded by the visit of External Affairs Minister Mukherjee in April 2008
and Human Resources and Development Minister Arjun Singh in May–
June 2006 and of Prince Saud al-Faisal in February 2008. Prime Minister
Singh was given the rare honour of addressing the Majlis al-Shura and
was conferred an honorary doctorate by the King Saud University based
in Riyadh. One cannot ignore the irony of the occasion. The leader of
THE SHIFT