As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Saudi Arabia this week, there is much to celebrate in the remarkable transformation of bilateral ties. Yet, in our media’s intense focus on prime ministerial visits, we often overlook the profound shifts underway in the countries hosting these visits. Nowhere is this truer than in Saudi Arabia.

The PM’s visit to Jeddah is not only about expanding bilateral relations; it also reflects Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a significant geopolitical actor under its Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS). The story is as much about the evolving dynamics between the two nations as it is about the parallel political trajectories of Modi and MbS. Modi assumed office in 2014, and MbS rose to prominence a year later.

Modi’s visit marks only the sixth time an Indian Prime Minister has been to Saudi Arabia since 1947, which underscores the under-performance in earlier decades. Jawaharlal Nehru visited in 1955, followed by Indira Gandhi more than a quarter-century later in 1982 and Manmohan Singh in 2010 after a gap of 28 years. In contrast, Modi’s upcoming trip will be his third — after visits in 2016 and 2019 — reflecting a higher priority for Saudi Arabia in India’s foreign policy strategy.

Despite historical, civilisational, and religious links between Arabia and the Indian subcontinent, India’s policy toward the region was long shaped by ideological posturing, apprehensions about Pakistan, and hesitancy to invest political........

© Indian Express