165the Indian request and offered a week-long safe passage and stopped aerial
bombing between 9.00 and 11.00 AM which enabled India to carry out
the evacuation (PTI 2018a). The discussions on two-way investments
involving ARAMCO are a move towards transforming the bilateral rela-
tions beyond the present transactional mode. The impending visit of King
Salman would accelerate some of these projects.
conclusion
Prime Minister Modi’s engagements with Saudi Arabia are part of his
political visits and contacts with the broader Middle East. Recognizing the
regional diversity and prolonged neglect, India is seeking to depoliticize
its ties and move away from the traditional preoccupation with the Arab-
Israeli conflict and the resultant balancing. The economic relations have to
go beyond trade and energy imports and should involve two-way invest-
ments: upstream projects in Saudi Arabia and downstream ones in India.
Strategic energy reserves would be one such venture which would
strengthen the Indo-Saudi relations. At the same time, given the pro-
longed neglect, indifference and mutual suspicion, the journey will not be
easy. How far have the economic ties progressed in recent years?
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