PM Modi to visit Saudi Arabia from April 22-23

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, April 19, 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to Saudi Arabia next week — his first visit to the country in his third term. Since first assuming office in 2014, Modi has travelled there twice before — in 2016 and 2019.

Sources said that trade and investments, energy cooperation, reviving the IMEEC (India-Middle East-Europe Corridor) and defence partnership will be among the issues on the agenda for discussion when Modi visits the country on April 22-23.

Modi is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. His visit comes ahead of US President Donald Trump’s expected visit to Saudi Arabia in mid-May — Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term at the White House.

The visit comes at a time when the US is reaching out to Iran for talks to cap its nuclear programme, and Israel has been able to decimate Hamas and Hezbollah in the region.

The regional situation is still in turmoil, with the Houthis trying to disrupt maritime traffic on the Red Sea. India is keen to engage with Saudi Arabia and other partners in the region to restore stability.

The tension in the West Asian region has impacted the ambitious IMEEC in the last couple of years, ever since the October 7, 2023, terror attacks by Hamas on Israel led to the war in Gaza. New Delhi would want to take stock of the current situation, and move forward on the IMEEC — that will connect India with Europe, through the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is a key partner in this endeavour and India wants to move on this swiftly, after high-level visits by the UAE’s royalty, Israel’s minister and Italy’s deputy prime minister among others.

Earlier, Modi’s visit to Riyadh in April 2016 led to enhanced and comprehensive cooperation in political, economic, security and defence matters. Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to India in February 2019 carried forward this momentum.

Modi visited Riyadh again in October 2019, during which the Strategic Partnership Council Agreement was signed, establishing a high-level council to steer India-Saudi ties. Prince Mohammed bin Salman then visited India in September 2023 to participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit and to co-chair the First Leaders’ Meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council along with Modi.

Ties with Saudi Arabia are important for energy security — it was India’s third largest crude and petroleum products sourcing destination in 2023-24. India imported 33.35 MMT of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in 2023-24, accounting for 14.3% of the country’s total crude oil imports. Saudi Arabia was the third largest LPG sourcing destination for India in this period, accounting for 18.2% of India’s total LPG imports. Delhi will want to engage with Saudi for better deals, as they discuss India’s high energy needs.

Officials said that trade and investment is another area where the two countries will discuss how to take it a notch above. Bilateral trade ties have steadily grown over the years. India is the second largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia, whereas Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest trading partner of India. In 2023-24, bilateral trade stood at US$ 42.98 billion, with Indian exports at US$ 11.56 billion and imports at US$ 31.42 billion.

Indian investments in Saudi Arabia have also increased in recent years, reaching a cumulative figure of approximately US$ 3 billion in August 2023. Saudi investment in India has been about US$ 10 billion. Efforts will be made to enhance these investments as well.

A new area of partnership is the India-Saudi Arabia defence ties that have strengthened in recent years. The first ministerial visit on the defence side in over 12 years took place when the then MoS (Defence) Ajay Bhatt visited Riyadh for the World Defence Show in February 2024. Being maritime neighbours, India and Saudi Arabia enjoy extensive naval cooperation. Two editions of the bilateral naval exercise, ‘Al Mohed Al Hindi’, have been concluded so far. Additionally, both sides have close cooperation in defence industries and capacity building.