India-Saudi Arabia Relationships and Its Impact on Pakistan

Abstract

This study aims at examining the changing strategic relations between India and Saudi Arabia and its resultant implication on Pakistan as far as its diplomatic influence and regional security are concerned. Pakistan had had a privileged relationship with Saudi Arabia that was founded on religious, military and economic bases. Nevertheless, after the mid-2010s, Saudi Arabia increasingly shifted its foreign policy to India through its common economic interests, energy security, and strategy diversification in Vision 2030. This paper explores the impact of this change in the traditional leverage that Pakistan has and comes up with policy choices that Islamabad can adopt to reduce the risen vulnerabilities. Under a research design of qualitative, documentary-analysis approach, based on secondary level data, the study uses a dual theoretical perspective; that is, Complex Interdependence with the Neoclassical Realism to evaluate the realignments in the region. The paper raises two research questions: (1) what impact have increasing Saudi Arabian relations with India had on the diplomatic and security calculation of Pakistan? (2) What adjustable policy actions can Pakistan adopt in reaction to these changes? The literature review provides the evidence that there are gaping holes regarding the study of trilateral relationships and Pakistan strategic flexibility. The results indicate that economic practicality, change in the labor policy and ideological rectification have caused Pakistan influence in Saudi foreign policy to decline. To this adverse pattern, the research proposes the diplomatic diversification, the upskilling of the labor force, the institutional foreign policy planning, and the increased involvement of soft power. The study is unique as it provides a relevant, policy-oriented, study of a reconfiguring South Asian-Gulf geopolitical triangle and provide strategic avenues through which Pakistan can rebalance its foreign policies.