Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia later this month, likely around 22nd April. 

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While the finer details of the visit are being firmed up, the visit of PM Modi to the Kingdom comes after a gap of over 5 years. 

During the visit, PM Modi will hold talks with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince & Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.

The visit comes amid a strong push by Delhi for the India Middle East Europe corridor (IMEC), of which Saudi is a key partner counter. 

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Announced during the Delhi G20 summit in 2023, the major economic connectivity projects involve Saudi Arabia, UAE, France, Germany, Italy, the European Union and the United States. 

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Saudi Arabia serves as a critical link in the IMEC’s northern corridor, connecting the Arabian Gulf to Europe. The proposed rail network will traverse the kingdom, linking ports in the UAE like Fujairah to the Israeli port of Haifa via Saudi cities like Haradh and Riyadh.

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India has been engaging with countries who were part of the signing document for the corridor in Delhi. During PM Modi's France visit in February this year, the inauguration of the consulate in Marseille was seen as key to the corridor, which is seen linking the city with India's financial capital Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Italy is hoping for Trieste, a northeastern port city to be the key point to the corridor. Italy nominated Ambassador Francesco Talò as its IMEC representative just ahead of Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani's India visit next week.

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The last visit of PM Modi to the Kingdom was in 2019 when he attended the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Forum in Riyadh. During the visit, both sides announced the establishment of India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC), co-chaired by PM Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to oversee political, economic, and cultural ties. 

Interestingly, the visit came just a few months after India removed special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir during which the Saudi response signaled a strong diplomatic support for India.

India is the 2nd largest trade partner of Saudi Arabia whereas Saudi Arabia is the 5th largest trading partner of India. The country remains India’s third-largest Crude and Petroleum products sourcing destination for FY 2023-24. 

In the same financial year, the country was also the 3rd largest LPG sourcing destination for India, accounting for 18.2% of the total LPG imports of India that year.

Defence has also emerged as an important pillar of ties. Both have extensive naval cooperation and so far, two editions of the bilateral naval exercise ‘Al Mohed Al Hindi’ have been concluded. The first ever India-Saudi Joint Land Force Exercise ‘EX-SADA TANSEEQ-I’ was conducted in India from January 29 - February 10, 2024. 

Coincided with it was the first official visit to India by Royal Saudi Naval Forces Chief of Staff Admiral Fahd Al-Ghofaily. 

The country is home to 2.7 million strong Indian communities, many of them are employed in the country's construction, domestic work, and transportation sector.