PM Modi : 2025 Visit to Saudi Arabia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Saudi Arabia in April 2025 marks a pivotal step in India’s West Asia outreach and a milestone in strengthening bilateral relations. As the first Indian prime minister in more than 40 years to set foot in Jeddah—Saudi Arabia’s commercial hub and gateway to Islam’s most sacred sites—Modi’s trip carries far more weight than a routine diplomatic visit.
This high-level engagement reflects a strategic shift in India’s foreign policy, aimed at reinforcing partnerships in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. Far from being a symbolic exercise, the visit underscores New Delhi’s intent to deepen cooperation with Riyadh across multiple fronts—ranging from trade and energy to regional security and counterterrorism. It’s a calculated diplomatic move that could reshape India’s role in the Gulf and beyond.
PM Modi : A Strategic Milestone: From Riyadh to Jeddah
The decision to make Jeddah the focal point of this high-level visit is significant in itself. While Prime Minister Modi’s earlier trips to Saudi Arabia in 2016 and 2019 centered around Riyadh—the political capital—this time, the choice of Jeddah carries deeper symbolic and strategic meaning. As the traditional gateway for Indian pilgrims en route to Mecca and Medina, Jeddah represents the cultural and spiritual bridge between India and the Islamic world.
By choosing this city, Modi is not only acknowledging the shared heritage and people-to-people ties but also signaling a nuanced understanding of the region’s symbolic geography. It also marks the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Jeddah since Indira Gandhi’s in 1982, effectively ending a 43-year gap and highlighting a renewed diplomatic focus on fostering closer bonds with the Gulf.
This isn’t just historical nostalgiaâit is a diplomatic calculation. Jeddah is the Kingdom’s commercial engine, located on the Red Sea and central to Saudi Arabia’s global trade networks and its Vision 2030 diversification strategy. Modi’s presence here signals India’s intent to be a long-term economic and strategic partner.
Modi : Strategic Partnership Council: From agreement to action
At the heart of this visit lies the third meeting of the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council (SPC), co-chaired by PM Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Established in 2019, the SPC operates on two tracks: political-security-cultural cooperation and economy-investment collaboration. The council has been pivotal in institutionalising the bilateral relationship, turning declarations of friendship into frameworks for actionable cooperation.
Defence Ties: Moving from Symbolism to Strategic Depth
One of the most remarkable transformations in India-Saudi Arabia relations is unfolding in the realm of defence cooperation. Once limited to ceremonial visits and goodwill exchanges, the partnership has matured into a more robust, multi-layered engagement featuring procurement deals, joint military exercises, and institutional collaborations.
In 2024, the two nations conducted their first joint land military exercise, Sada Tanseeq, in Rajasthan. This followed the successful second edition of their naval drill, Al Mohed Al Hindi. More notably, February 2024 marked a milestone with the signing of the first-ever defence contract between the two countries—a $225 million agreement with India’s state-run Munitions India Limited (MIL) for artillery shells and the export of 155mm Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS).
