1. Saudi Arabia signs oil deal with India

Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco has bought a 20% stake in India’s Reliance Industries’ oil-to-chemical business which will help it regain the position of being the biggest supplier of oil to the world’s fastest-growing oil market. Saudi Arabia, which traditionally has been India’s top oil source, lost the slot to Iraq during the last two financial years. This will change with Aramco buying 20 per cent stake in the RIL’s oil-to-chemical (O2C) business, which has an enterprise valuation of USD 75 billion as it will be accompanied with a deal to supply 500,000 barrels per day or 25 million tonne a year of crude oil. This signal’s Saudi Arabia’s priorities and continuance of business with India despite the controversial situation in Kashmir.

2. Indian business ties underpin Kashmir

The Gulf as a whole has followed the same route, as Gulf Arab countries have remained mostly silent as India’s government moved to strip the Indian-administered sector of Kashmir of its limited autonomy, imposing a sweeping military curfew in the disputed Muslim-majority region. This muted response is underwritten by more than $100 billion in annual trade with India that makes it one of the Arabian Peninsula’s most prized economic partners. Such is the diplomatic and economic importance of maintaining ties, that the gulf has chosen to cast a blind eye on the latest events.

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3. Saudi attempts to present itself as mediator

4. Saudi displays hostility to Pakistan

5. Strength of UAE-India bond

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