Narendra Modi strikes a right chord in Saudi Arabia

The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 would stand out as unique in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The highlight of the visit was Modi being conferred the Kingdom's highest civilian award--King Abdul Aziz Sash.Named after the founder of the Kingdom, Modi is one of the very few heads of State and Governments to be given this honour.
The Indian Prime Minister, on his part, presented King Salman bin Abdul Aziz a gold-plated replica of a mosque built by the Arab traders in Kerala in the 7th century.
The King's gesture is an acknowledgement of the stature India has gained in the global community , especially its current positioning in the geopolitical affairs of West Asia.
Another highlight of the visit was the joint statement issued by the two countries. It speaks at length about the phenomenon of terrorism plaguing the two countries and sends out a clear message to all those who have been trying to push their nefarious agenda through the loopholes in the system.
It says, “The two leaders expressed strong condemnation of the phenomenon of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of who the perpetrators were and of their motivations. Affirming, that the menace of extremism and terrorism threatens all nations and societies, the two leaders rejected totally any attempt to link this universal phenomenon to any particular race, religion or culture.“
This part of the statement addresses India's concerns more than that of Saudi Arabia, as New Delhi has been talking about cross-border terrorism for a long time. It's also important because some international and national quarters have been linking the menace of terrorism to a particular community . community .
The other important portion of the joint statement, particularly for India, states: “The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing and capacity-building and to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement, anti-money laundering, drug-trafficking and other transnational crimes. They welcomed the signing of a MoU on cooperation in exchange of intelligence re lated to money laundering, related crimes and terrorism financing. The two sides further agreed to take action against illegal transfer of money .“ At the same time, “Both leaders agreed to promote cooperation in cyber security , including prevention of use of cyber space for terrorism, radicalization and for disturbing social harmony .“
Further, Prime Minister Modi's decision to speak directly with a section of the Indian workforce in Saudi Arabia was unprecedented. He visited the all-women Tata Consultancy Services office where he was mobbed by women, mostly Saudi, for 'selfies.' In conservative Saudi Arabia that's a rarity! But the event that stood out most prominently was Modi joining L&T staffers, building a portion of Metro there, for a meal. None of the three prime ministers before him have tried to meet representatives of the Indian workforce or taken up their issues as openly as Modi did.
Saudi Arabia is host to 2.97 million Indians. Though the Kingdom has gone through many economic ups and downs in the last about four decades, the number of Indian workers has been on the rise.From the 100,000 range in the 60s and 70s, the numbers picked up to about a million in the 80s. Now they stand as the single largest expatriate community in the Kingdom sending home about $4 billion every year.They have, however, been the most neglected lot. Though the Indian diplomatic missions have been trying to intervene in matters that were brought to their notice, there was no political will behind them. Now, the Indian community has be en empowered with writing about their problems directly to the MEA or the Prime Minister's office. An Indian-Saudi joint working group has formed to look into the more complicated issues and resolve them quickly .
The Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf where most of the Indians are working are volatile. First, it was the invasion of Iraq into Kuwait that disturbed the peace of the region and many Indians, along with other expatriates, had to flee Kuwait to save their lives. Then there was armed conflict in Yemen from where India was able to evacuate about 5,000 Indians at the last minute. Against this background, India should announce an emergency plan to provide succour to them.The announcement of the plan itself will come as a huge relief to Indian workers and their families.