Trade and cultural links between ancient India and Arabia date back to the third millennium BC.[2] By 1000 AD, the trade relations between southern India and Arabia flourished and became the backbone of the Arabian economy.[3] Arab traders held a monopoly over the spice trade between India and Europe until the rise of European imperialist empires.[4] India was one of the first nations to establish ties with the Third Saudi State. During the 1930s, British India heavily funded Nejd through financial subsidies.[5]