The Big Picture - India & West Asia - New Frontiers

India and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday inked over a dozen agreements in several key sectors including oil and gas, defence and civil aviation to bolster their ties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with the Kingdom's top leadership during which a Strategic Partnership Council was established to coordinate on important issues. Saudi Arabia has, for some time now, been looking for new friends in the East. The disappointing response of the United States after half of the kingdom’s oil production was knocked out by drone attacks last month, or when the West cornered Riyadh on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year, has only driven it to look east. India is also achieving its strategic goals alongside trade with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the bilateral ties between India and the UAE too have reached new heights. Having prospered for several decades, it has more recently advanced into a sterling partnership spanning multiple dimensions, with both countries firmly committed to expanding collaboration in new sectors. Not just Saudi and the UAE, the whole of West Asia is looking to engage with India and explore new frontiers. On this edition of the big picture we will analyse India’s ties with West Asia.

Guests - Harsh V. Pant, Head, Strategic Studies, Observer Research Foundation,
Prof. A. K. Pasha, Centre for West Asian Studies, JNU,
Prabhu Dayal, Former Ambassador,

Anchor - Frank Rausan Pereira

Producer - Sagheer Ahmad