Unlike the welcome accorded to our leaders, Saudi government rolled out a special red carpet for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he arrived in Riyadh for a three-day visit last week. The entire Saudi cabinet was lined up at the airport to greet the guest.
Dr Singh himself later told journalists that he was "deeply touched and humbled" by the gestures extended to him during the visit - a first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in nearly three decades. This has upset many in Pakistan, who view the relationship with Saudi Arabia as a bond between brothers, unmatchable by any other.
Most of us naively like to attribute the closeness with the Kingdom to shared faith, ignoring the fact that the relationship between Riyadh and other Muslim countries in the region, such as Syria and Iran, is anything but cordial. A unique sense of brotherliness, though characterizes its connection with Pakistan.
The feeling of brotherliness is strong, indeed. After all, our rulers run to Saudi Arabia for help every now and then to tide over economic crises created by a lethal combination of incompetence and corruption that typifies their leadership style, receiving the desired response most of the time. It is like a relationship between a rich and a poor brother, the former helping the latter in times of need, and, in return, wielding substantial influence in its domestic affairs.
The grateful little brother, having more muscle power than nearly all others in the neighbourhood, is useful for performing some important tasks, too. The mutuality of interests is certainly there. The friendship though has grown more like one between a giver and a taker, than between two equals. Hence, we need not feel bad about differentiation and distinction issues.
The Saudi-Indian friendship is based on commonality of interests in economic as well as political fields, which determine the nature of ties between nations, big and small. It is a project that has been in progress for nearly four years. Saudis realised a while ago that India has a lot to offer as an emerging power. King Abdullah visited New Delhi in 2006 - just five months after his ascension to the throne - and signed what is often described in India as the 'historic' Delhi Declaration.
During Dr Singh's visit, the two sides signed another 'historic' joint statement, called the Riyadh Declaration, which basically is reiteration of resolve to implement the earlier agreement. The two sides have, once again, vowed to develop a broad-based economic partnership that reflects "the ongoing transformation" of their economies, and the changes, they said, the transformation is to bring about in the global economic order through continuous co-ordination within the framework of the G-20 process.
In an unmistakable sign of ongoing progress, India is seeking to deepen its involvement in the Saudi oil sector. Speaking at the Saudi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Singh said, "Conditions are ripe for moving beyond a traditional buyer-seller relationship to a comprehensive energy partnership."
He then went on to offer the services of Indian companies, which, he said, are well-equipped to participate in upstream and downstream oil and gas sector projects in Saudi Arabia. The two countries have also inked agreements for research and education, information technology services, science and technology, and peaceful uses of outer space. Needless to say, these are all building blocks of a mutually beneficial relationship, and in time are likely outmanoeuvre the brotherly ties we rely on so much.
The Riyadh Declaration also says that in view of the development of other relations, and the potential for their future growth, the two countries' leaders decided to raise their co-operation to a "strategic partnership."
The talk of 'strategic partnership' at this point in time appears to have significance regarding two issues: American desire to curtail Iran's growing power, and India's concern about terrorism. Given the fact that both Saudi Arabia and India are part of the pro-US camp, the new partnership has repercussions for Iran.
There is no love lost between Saudi Arabia and Iran. And as regards India, the US has gradually managed to pull it away from Iran. As the US dangled the carrot of a civilian nuclear deal before it, India voted against Iran - breaking rank with its old NAM friends who abstained - in an important International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting back in 2005.
In November 2009, again, it voted in favour of a resolution at IAEA that sought to put Iran on the mat for building an alleged secret uranium enrichment plant. After much toeing and froeing it has finally opted out of the IPI gas pipeline project as well.
Earlier in the process, Manmohan Singh's previous government replaced Oil Minister Mani Shankar Ayer with a known pro-American businessman-turned-politician Murli Deora because he was insistent on going ahead with the energy project, irrespective of the American offer of a civilian nuclear programme. The strategic partnership surely is not in harmony with Pakistan's interests in its near or extended neighbourhood.
For now, Pakistan needs to worry about the diplomatic punch India threw its way from Riyadh. Junior Minister Shashi Tharoor's remarks that Saudi Arabia, having a long and close relationship with Pakistan, makes the former a "valuable interlocutor for us", seen as a request for intervention, angered the BJP in India and pleased many in Pakistan.
In reality, they were meant to paint Pakistan as a bad boy, who needed to be disciplined. Dr Singh later put the remarks in perspective, telling Indian journalists that knowing Saudi Arabia had close relations with Pakistan he had discussed Pak-India relations with King Abdullah.
Said he, "I explained to him the role that terrorism, aided, abetted and inspired by Pakistan is playing in our country. I did not ask for him to do anything other than to use his good offices to persuade Pakistan to desist from this path."
Apparently, the approach has worked. While speaking to Indian journalists Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al Faisal, seemed to have bought the Indian allegations when he said: "Pakistan is a friendly country. Anytime one sees a dangerous trend in a friendly country, one is not only sorry but worried." Considering that it is not standard practice in international diplomacy to discuss 'dangerous trends' in a third country in bilateral contacts, Delhi has certainly scored a big success in having the Saudi Foreign Minister connect Pakistan with a "dangerous trend", namely terrorism, which worried him.
Many in Pakistan would have expected the Prince to make a mention of this country's concerns as well, by making a ritual mention, at the very least, of the need for India and Pakistan to resolve the core issue of contention between them, Kashmir, through discussion and dialogue. What he said instead should ring an alarm bell or two in Islamabad.
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