Saudi pivot to the East
BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has enlarged the kingdom’s footprints in Asia with his recent visits to Pakistan, India and China.
The visits were part of a long odyssey he embarked upon a year ago, which included an 18-day sojourn in the United States and shorter trips to major European countries besides some immediate neighbours.
Observers around the world have been speculating on the significance of the travels of the prince, who is considered the driving force behind the reforms under way in his country.
Some have linked his travels to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims at making the kingdom “the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds, an investment powerhouse and hub connecting three continents.” Apart from being Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, he is the Chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, which is implementing the project.
The French news agency AFP quoted Najah Al-Otaibi, a senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation, a Washington-based pro-Saudi think tank, as saying his visits to the three Asian countries point to a pivot to the East.
Both Pakistan and India broke protocol in welcoming the prince. In Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan personally drove him to his residence, repeating a gesture he had made during Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed’s visit in January.
Ahead of the traditional ceremonial welcome at the President’s house in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted him at the airport with a warm hug.
Responding to the pleas of the Prime Ministers, Prince Mohammed ordered release of about 2,000 Pakistanis and 850 Indians from Saudi jails.
Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for Saudi investment of 20 billion in Pakistan were signed when he was in Islamabad.
“It is big for phase one and it is definitely gonna to grow every month, every year, in bigger numbers and will be beneficial to both countries,” he said, adding: “Consider me Pakistan’s ambassador in Saudi.”
India, a large importer of oil, buys only one-fifth of its needs from Saudi Arabia, making it the third major supplier after Iraq and Iran.
Last year Saudi oil giant Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced plans to set up a $44 billion petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, in collaboration with Indian companies. Saudi Arabia is to supply half the crude to be refined at the plant. That will raise Saudi’s share of India’s oil imports.
As the oil boom of the 1970’s spurred intense economic activity, Saudi Arabia, like the other Gulf States, welcomed Indian workers. Currently, about three million Indians, from management experts to engineers and unskilled labour, are serving the Saudi economy.
The Indo-Saudi joint statement said the two sides had agreed to cement their strategic partnership with the creation of a high-level monitoring council led by the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince.
MoUs signed during the visit envisage a potential Saudi investment in excess of $100 billion in areas such as energy, petrochemicals infrastructure, agriculture, minerals, manufacturing, education and health.
The prince invited Indian companies to invest in his country to access domestic and regional markets.
The statement dwelt on the need to create conditions for resumption of comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan. However, as it came after the Pulwama bomb attack, Indian officials laid stress on the appeal to all countries to renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy and to deny access to weapons to commit terrorist acts against other countries.
In China, the prince said his government supported Beijing’s fight against terrorism. The China visit was the most important leg of the prince’s itinerary as that country is now Saudi Arabia’s largest trade partner.
An immediate gain for Saudi Arabia was a $10-billion oil deal. Other deals included one between Aramco and two Chinese firms to build a $10-billiom petrochemical complex in northeast China announced in 2017.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Bin Abdulaziz said this was just a beginning. Saudi Arabia had a lot of money to invest and China was a great place to invest, he added. --Gulf Today, Sharjah, February 26, 2029.
BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has enlarged the kingdom’s footprints in Asia with his recent visits to Pakistan, India and China.
The visits were part of a long odyssey he embarked upon a year ago, which included an 18-day sojourn in the United States and shorter trips to major European countries besides some immediate neighbours.
Observers around the world have been speculating on the significance of the travels of the prince, who is considered the driving force behind the reforms under way in his country.
Some have linked his travels to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims at making the kingdom “the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds, an investment powerhouse and hub connecting three continents.” Apart from being Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, he is the Chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, which is implementing the project.
The French news agency AFP quoted Najah Al-Otaibi, a senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation, a Washington-based pro-Saudi think tank, as saying his visits to the three Asian countries point to a pivot to the East.
Both Pakistan and India broke protocol in welcoming the prince. In Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan personally drove him to his residence, repeating a gesture he had made during Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed’s visit in January.
Ahead of the traditional ceremonial welcome at the President’s house in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted him at the airport with a warm hug.
Responding to the pleas of the Prime Ministers, Prince Mohammed ordered release of about 2,000 Pakistanis and 850 Indians from Saudi jails.
Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for Saudi investment of 20 billion in Pakistan were signed when he was in Islamabad.
“It is big for phase one and it is definitely gonna to grow every month, every year, in bigger numbers and will be beneficial to both countries,” he said, adding: “Consider me Pakistan’s ambassador in Saudi.”
India, a large importer of oil, buys only one-fifth of its needs from Saudi Arabia, making it the third major supplier after Iraq and Iran.
Last year Saudi oil giant Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced plans to set up a $44 billion petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, in collaboration with Indian companies. Saudi Arabia is to supply half the crude to be refined at the plant. That will raise Saudi’s share of India’s oil imports.
As the oil boom of the 1970’s spurred intense economic activity, Saudi Arabia, like the other Gulf States, welcomed Indian workers. Currently, about three million Indians, from management experts to engineers and unskilled labour, are serving the Saudi economy.
The Indo-Saudi joint statement said the two sides had agreed to cement their strategic partnership with the creation of a high-level monitoring council led by the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince.
MoUs signed during the visit envisage a potential Saudi investment in excess of $100 billion in areas such as energy, petrochemicals infrastructure, agriculture, minerals, manufacturing, education and health.
The prince invited Indian companies to invest in his country to access domestic and regional markets.
The statement dwelt on the need to create conditions for resumption of comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan. However, as it came after the Pulwama bomb attack, Indian officials laid stress on the appeal to all countries to renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy and to deny access to weapons to commit terrorist acts against other countries.
In China, the prince said his government supported Beijing’s fight against terrorism. The China visit was the most important leg of the prince’s itinerary as that country is now Saudi Arabia’s largest trade partner.
An immediate gain for Saudi Arabia was a $10-billion oil deal. Other deals included one between Aramco and two Chinese firms to build a $10-billiom petrochemical complex in northeast China announced in 2017.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Bin Abdulaziz said this was just a beginning. Saudi Arabia had a lot of money to invest and China was a great place to invest, he added. --Gulf Today, Sharjah, February 26, 2029.
No comments:
Post a Comment