This article covers cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia in energy and in defence, the two sectors to which the brief gives separate sections beyond trade and culture. All facts are taken from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of May 2026.

Energy partnership

According to the MEA brief of May 2026, India imported 33.14 MMT of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in FY 2024-25. This was 13.58% of India's total crude oil imports in that year.

India also imported 3.34 MMT of LPG from Saudi Arabia in FY 2024-25, which was 14.99% of India's total LPG imports in 2024-25.

During the Prime Minister's State Visit to the Kingdom in April 2025, both sides agreed to collaborate on establishing two oil refineries in India. Crude oil and LPG also appear among India's major imports from the Kingdom, listed in this guide's trade and investment article.

One of the four Ministerial Committees of the Strategic Partnership Council, listed in this guide's relations article, is named the Economy, Energy, Investment & Technology Committee.

Defence partnership

The brief states that the bilateral defence partnership has strengthened in recent years.

Ministerial visits and agreements

The first ministerial visit on the defence side in over 12 years took place when the Minister of State (Defence), Shri Ajay Bhatt, visited Riyadh for the 2nd World Defence Show in February 2024. During the visit, an agreement was signed for defence ammunition exports from India to Saudi Arabia worth USD 225 million.

In February 2026, the Minister of State (Defence), Shri Sanjay Seth, attended the 3rd World Defence Show (WDS), where he inaugurated the India pavilion, which the brief describes as a first for WDS.

Dialogue mechanisms

A new Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council was announced in April 2025. The 7th Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) meeting was held in New Delhi in August 2025. Inaugural Navy Staff Talks and Army Staff Talks were held in 2025.

Visits by service chiefs

The brief records the following visits by military leaders:

  • The Chief of Naval Staff of India visited the Kingdom in February 2018.
  • The Chief of Army Staff of India visited in December 2020.
  • The Chief of Naval Staff of Saudi Arabia visited India in January 2024, and again in February 2026 to participate in the 9th IONS Conclave of Chiefs in Vishakhapatnam.
  • The Chief of General Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces visited India in December 2025. It was the first official visit of a Saudi CGS to India.

A high level Saudi military delegation also participated in Aero India 2025.

Exercises

Two editions of the bilateral naval exercise 'Al Mohed Al Hindi' have been held, in 2021 and 2023. The first ever bilateral Land Force Exercise, 'EX-SADA TANSEEQ-I', was held in 2024 in Rajasthan.

Training and ship visits

The brief describes training courses and capacity building initiatives as an important part of bilateral defence cooperation. Examples it gives are:

  • 76 trainees from the King Fahd Naval Academy of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces completed their Afloat Training Course at the 1st Training Squadron (1TS) of the Indian Navy in July 2024.
  • A Saudi delegation visited IFC-IOR in Gurugram for a study tour in July 2025.
  • A senior delegation from the National Defence College of India visited Saudi Arabia on 01-03 September 2025 for a familiarisation tour.

Indian Naval Ships regularly visit Saudi ports. INS Tamal and INS Surat made a port call at Jeddah in August 2025, and ICGS Sarthak visited Dammam in December 2025.

Other sectors

Agreements on space, health and other fields signed during leaders' visits are listed in the relations article.