Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia beginning Tuesday with focus on further expanding bilateral cooperation in several key areas including energy, trade and defence.
A number of agreements will be inked between the two sides following talks between Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
The visit will be hosted in the city of Jeddah, where Prime Minister Modi’s engagements will include a ceremonial welcome by the Crown Prince. Additionally, the two leaders will co-chair the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, aimed at building on the already strong bilateral relationship.
The visit will provide an opportunity to build on the already strong strategic partnership between the two countries, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said here on Saturday at a media briefing. There will an effort to infuse a strategic dimension to the India-Saudi Arabia energy cooperation, he said.
The Foreign Secretary highlighted the importance of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia, stating, “The visit is significant due to Saudi Arabia’s role as a strategic partner for India. The country is home to one of the largest Indian expatriate communities globally.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia is a key voice in the Islamic world and is increasingly influential in regional matters. This visit presents an opportunity to further strengthen the already robust ties with this strategic partner. The Prime Minister and Crown Prince share a strong personal bond, marked by mutual respect, which has greatly benefited the bilateral relationship.”
Prime Minister Modi is visiting Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This will be the third visit of the Prime Minister to the Kingdom after his previous visits in 2016 and 2019.
The visit follows the State Visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to New Delhi in September 2023 to attend the G20 Summit and co-chair the first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.
India and Saudi Arabia share close and friendly ties with a long history of socio-cultural and trade contacts. As strategic partners, the two countries share strong bilateral relations across various areas including political, defence, security, trade, investment, energy, technology, health, education, culture and people-to-people ties.
India’s relations with the Kingdom have evolved into a stronger and enduring partnership in the past decade, expanding into many strategic domains, with growing investment commitments, broadening of defence cooperation and intensive high-level exchanges across sectors.
Modi’s visit reflects the importance India attaches to its bilateral relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will provide an opportunity to further deepen and strengthen our multi-faceted partnership, as well as to exchange views on various regional and international issues of mutual interest.
