[3] Arab traders held a monopoly over the spice trade between India and Europe until the rise of European imperialist empires.

[6] In history there have been four visits to Saudi Arabia by an Indian Prime Minister: Jawaharlal Nehru (1955), Indira Gandhi (1982), Manmohan Singh (2010) and Narendra Modi (2016) .

Moreover, the Muslim population in India is the second largest in the world, thus sending a huge number of Indian pilgrims every year for Umrah and Hajj.

Since its independence in 1947, India has sought to maintain strong ties with Saudi Arabia, an important regional power and trading base in West Asia.

In a major visit by King Saud of Saudi Arabia to India in November 1955,[9][10][11] both nations agreed to shape their relationship based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence.

[14] Saudi Arabia supported Pakistan's stance on the Kashmir conflict and during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, at the expense of its relations with India.

[14] The Saudi king and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed an agreement forging a strategic energy partnership that was termed the "Delhi Declaration.

"[16] The pact provides for a "reliable, stable and increased volume of crude oil supplies to India through long-term contracts.

[17] An Indo-Saudi joint declaration in the Indian capital New Delhi described the king's visit as "heralding a new era in India-Saudi Arabia relations.

[25][26] India's major exports include basmati rice, textiles and garments and machinery, while it imports organic and inorganic chemicals, metal scrap, leather, gold and oil from Saudi Arabia.

The 10 major commodities exported from Saudi Arabia to India were:[29] In 2018, the bilateral trade relations between the two countries hit $27.5 billion.

Progressive growth has been observed between the countries in bilateral investment after the liberalisation policy of India in 1991 and little bit faster increase in new millennium.

Saudi Arabia is ranked at 15th position in country-wise FDI joint venture in India and it is second in Arab countries followed by UAE.

[7][34] In a rare diplomatic gesture symbolising the strong cultural and socio-economic ties between the two nations, Dr Singh and his official delegation were received at the royal terminal of the King Khalid International Airport by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz accompanied by his entire cabinet.

An MoU for co-operation was signed between Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the King Saud University in the presence of the Prime Minister.

[37] Four agreements pertaining to transfer of sentenced persons, cultural co-operation, Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Space Research Organisation and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology for co-operation in peaceful use of outer space and joint research and information technology were also signed in presence of the two leaders.

[33][38] This visit is considered as India's attempt to increase the depth of relationships between the two countries and make a pitch for investments from Saudi Arabia.

[43] The Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, made a visit to India during his journey to many Asian countries in February, 2019.