This is Prince Salman’s second state visit to India.
New Delhi:
Trade, economy, defense and cultural cooperation are the main topics of discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud during the latter’s state visit today.
The Saudi Crown Prince arrived in Delhi for a three-day tour that started with the G20 Summit in the national capital.
At the high-profile meeting today at the Hyderabad House in Delhi, the two leaders will co-chair the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, a bilateral agreement between India and Saudi Arabia that was signed by the two countries in Riyadh in 2019.
Leaders will review the progress of the two ministerial committees of the Strategic Partnership Council, namely the Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation Committee and the Economy and Investment Cooperation Committee. They will also discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, including politics, security, defense, trade, economics, culture and people-to-people ties. In addition, they will discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest, a government press release said.
India and Saudi Arabia have a long history of cordial and cooperative relations, with extensive people-to-people ties. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached a record high of $52.75 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to government data.
Prime Minister Modi, during his visit to Riyadh in 2019, had said that India and Saudi Arabia have a Joint Committee on Defense Cooperation (JCDC) that meets regularly and the two countries have a number of areas of mutual interest and cooperation in defense and cooperation identified. security.
The two economic powers are also important trading partners. India is Saudi Arabia’s second largest trading partner, while Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest. The two countries have a strong partnership in the energy sector, with India importing a significant amount of oil from Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince will be given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10am, ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Modi at 11am.
After completing his engagements with Prime Minister Modi and other dignitaries, Prince Salman will meet President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 6:30 PM before departing New Delhi at 8:30 PM.
This is Prince Salman’s second state visit to India.
During the two-day G20 summit in New Delhi, Saudi Arabia was one of the signatories of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
The initiative, seen by many as a potential alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, was jointly announced by Prime Minister Modi and the leaders of the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union . the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Once completed, the project could serve as a modern Silk Road that functioned as the central trade route allowing economic partnerships, political alliances and cultural integration between continents.
