The News
As the Gulf deepens ties with the West, it’s still looking to strengthen relations with its trading partners in the East. On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Saudi Arabia — his third visit since 2016 to the kingdom, a major supplier of energy, buyer of goods, and source of remittances from Indian workers.
Modi will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah to discuss energy and food security, as well as further talks on a trade connectivity plan — originally backed by the Biden administration — known as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
Saudi Arabia pledged in 2023 to invest $100 billion in India, and the kingdom was India’s second-largest trading partner last year, with $43 billion in total trade, more than half of it in oil and gas.
Separately, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. opened a sales and marketing office in Beijing and signed a liquefied natural gas supply deal with China, part of its effort to strengthen its position in the world’s second-largest economy.