Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will visit Saudi Arabia from May 24-27, at the invitation of his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal.
During this four-day visit, he will hold talks with Saudi officials on the Kingdom’s Nitaqat law, which aims to give more priority to locals in employment. This labour law, which has resulted in widespread concern over possible job losses among the many Indian expatriates living in the country, makes it mandatory for companies to reserve 10% of jobs for Saudi nationals.
Both sides will also deliberate on other issues of bilateral concern such as energy cooperation and counter-terrorism. They are also expected to discuss the recent developments in West Asia, especially in Syria.
This will be the first visit by an External Affairs Minister to Saudi Arabia in five years. There have been several other high-level engagements between the two countries in the past. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Saudi Arabia in 2010, followed by Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony’s visit in 2012.
New Delhi and Riyadh share warm relations. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade pegged at $36 billion in 2011-2012. India imports 17% of its oil from Saudi Arabia and accounts for 3.27 % of Saudi Arabia’s total imports. There are 2.8 million Indian nationals residing in Saudi, making it the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom.