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The long awaited visit Published on April 01, 2006 The visit to India this week of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia is certainly an historical event. This is not only because of its nature, level, timing, and implications but also because of the two countries� regional weight, and influence. Let us first not forget that the visit is the first of its kind in half a century. Since the visit of the former Saudi monarch King Saud to New Delhi in December 1955, neither Saudi leaders nor their deputies or even high ranking royal officials have come to India. The only exception was a short visit in 1981 by the Kingdom�s Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to discuss the consequences of the Afghan and Iran-Iraq wars. This fact was often used by observers as evidence that Indo-Saudi relations lacked genuine warmth and confidence. The visit, on the other hand, is important because it is taking place in an era characterized by unprecedented global and regional changes, and at a time when both countries are faced by similar challenges, particularly the challenge of fighting terrorism. Moreover, Saudi Arabia, as well as other Arab Gulf states, seems to be moving further toward a new policy based on the �Look East� concept, something that has been the centre of focus and demand by some Gulf elite since the 1990s. This coincides with what can be describe as new boom in the region resulting from the sharp increases in oil prices, and with the consequent intention of the Gulf states to direct their new financial capability towards productive rather than consuming projects. India, which has been showing increasing concerns about the Gulf region�s security, stability, and prosperity -motivated in particular by its growing needs for energy- is one of Asia�s rising powers that could massively help and benefit from this new boom. Another significance of the visit is that it is taking place 18 months after a historical agreement between the GCC countries and India to establish a multi-dimensional economic partnership as a prelude for a free trade zone between the two regions. Six months before that, an unprecedented meeting in Mumbai comprising ministers of industry and leading businessmen from the GCC and India had resulted in the �Mumbai Declaration�, in which both parties clearly stressed the need to systematically develop bilateral cooperation in all fields. The visit is also a clear indication that the two countries have liberated their views of each other from suspicion and mistrust that have long overshadowed their bilateral relations. In other words, it is an indication that their ties are no longer affected by ideological and emotional factors or by positions towards a third party, and that they are only governed by national interests. The event is fuelling optimism in the same way King Saud�s visit did five decades ago. At that time, many were certain that cooperation and coordination between the two nations would promote peace, security, and development in both the Middle East and the Indian Sub-continent. Such a belief was reinforced with the joint communiqu�, issued at the end of the visit, reflecting the two countries� harmonious outlook with regard to regional and global issues. More important, however, was the Saudi monarch�s speech in which he said: �I desire to say to my Muslim brethren all over the world with satisfaction that the fate of Indian Muslims is in safe hands�. This public statement by the guardian of the two Muslim holiest places was significantly important for the Indians, especially with Pakistan�s attempts to turn the Islamic world against New Delhi on the pretext that the latter discriminated against its Muslim minority. Similarly, Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru�s visit to Riyadh in 1956 gave accentuation to the two countries� political understanding, especially with Nehru writing to his chief ministers that the trip was a great experience for him and brought Delhi and Riyadh closer. This, however, did not last long. In the late 1950s and the following decades, the relationship suffered a set back. The consequences of the Cold War; the division of the Arab world into two ideology-based camps and India�s Cairo-centric Arab policy; the Kashmir cause and consequent Indo-Pakistani hostility and wars; the Saudi-Pakistani military and security alliance; Riyadh�s promotion of the notion of Islamic Solidarity, India�s strategic alliance with the communist Soviet Union; and differences over the jihad war in Afghanistan have all varyingly contributed at different times to the building of clouds in Indo-Saudi relations. In brief, relations, since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1954, have lacked a regular pattern of development. Moreover, every time they were about to witness a real breakthrough, the road happened to be blocked by the emergence of a new irritant issue, leading to further misgivings and suspicions. However, despite the scarcity of political and strategic understanding, both parties have successfully managed to avoid overt escalation, sustaining diplomatic contacts and economic cooperation throughout the years. This could mainly be attributed to the absence of any genuine or direct conflicting issue between them. It could also be attributed to a variety of considerations including Indians� age-long interactions with Arabs, mutual economic interests, New Delhi�s traditional pro-Arab policy, and Riyadh�s concern about maintaining contacts with India�s huge Muslim minority. With nearly all the aforementioned dividing factors being part of history and the two countries embracing common views, perceptions, and goals, the road is now paved as it has never been for a fruitful, long-term, multi-dimensional, and strategic partnership.
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