India and Saudi Arabia share a long history of bilateral ties, built upon shared values, culture and strong people-to-people links. Trade and cultural links between ancient India and Arabia date back to the third millennium BC. By 1000 AD, the trade relations between southern India and Arabia flourished and became the backbone of the Arabian economy¹. One of the first countries to forge ties with the Third Saudi State was India³. India's relationship with Saudi Arabia has flourished since 1947, the year India got independence. By 1954 ties between the two nations had been fully upgraded². Today, more than three million Indians live in Saudi Arabia, forming the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom².
