'India-Saudi Partnership Crucial for Welfare of The World': Modi Meets Crown Prince in Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the importance of the India-Saudi Arabia partnership and called it “crucial for stability, the welfare of the region and the world”. PM Modi and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Monday co-chaired the first leaders’ meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, a bilateral agreement between India and Saudi Arabia signed by the two countries in 2019.

The meeting came a day after the conclusion of the G20 Summit in India.

“For India, Saudi Arabia counts as one of its closest and biggest strategic partners. India-Saudi Arabia partnership crucial for stability, the welfare of the region and the world, ” PM Modi said after the meeting.

“We are adding a new dimension to our ties in tune with changing times. We have identified several initiatives to take our close partnership to the next level,” he added.

The two leaders discussed a varying range of topics including trade, economy, defence, and cultural cooperation and assessed 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 Investments Cooperation Committee.

Secretary (CPV & OIA) Ausaf Sayeed told the media as many as eight agreements were signed between the two countries during the meeting.

“The two sides also agreed to expedite the India-GCC FTA negotiations which they felt would act as a catalyst for further strengthening our economic cooperation between the two sides. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the FinTech field and explore trading in the local currencies…” he added.

“I am very glad to be here in India. I want to congratulate India for the G20 Summit,” the Crown Prince said.

Prince Salman is set to meet President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 6:30 pm before departing from New Delhi at 8:30 pm.