India's Commodity Trade with Saudi Arabia: A Panel Data Approach

The discovery, production, and exploration of the petroleum crude oil in Saudi Arabia and Gulf region increased the significance of this region in the world. India relies heavily on petroleum crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia. Economies from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries especially Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of petroleum oil and gas to Indian Economy. This is the only import commodity that is the most important constituent of the economic cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia. Countries of West Asia are the largest trading partner of India as compared to any other trading block or grouping at the world level. Further, trade size between India and Saudi Arabia observed an exponential growth during the study period. India's imports of petroleum oil are an important issue as Saudi Arabia is the main supplier of India's petroleum imports. Further, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are the main destinations for Indian expatriate workforce for employment. Therefore, Saudi Arabia plays an important role in solving the problems of unemployment and balance of payments problems in India. We will discuss the subject matter for ten years of data from 2005 to 2015.