When Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih made his second visit to India in less than three weeks in March to attend Akash Ambani’s wedding, it was expected that a Reliance-Saudi Aramco alliance was just round the corner. Al-Falih, also Saudi Aramco’s chairman, had previously let the cat out of the bag — first in December during the Udaipur festivities that marked Isha Ambani’s wedding, then in February when he accompanied Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for a state visit to India. New Delhi is “number one priority” for Riyadh,” he said.
On February 20, Lutyen’s Delhi had even been buzzing with speculation that a deal announcement was due. What came instead at that time was an innocuous statement from the Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Al-Nasser about joint investments with Reliance in refining and petrochemicals, almost echoing his boss’ previous statements.
