India-Saudi Arabia partnership crucial for stability, welfare of region and world, Prime Minister said during the meeting.
NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman held the first leaders’ meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council on Monday.
The agenda included a broad range of areas of bilateral cooperation including energy security, trade and investment, defence and security, healthcare, food security, culture and community welfare issues among others, the External Affairs Ministry said.
During the high-profile meeting at Delhi’s Hyderabad House, the two leaders co-chaired the first leaders’ meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, a bilateral agreement between India and Saudi Arabia signed by the two nations in Riyadh in 2019.
“For India, Saudi Arabia counts as one of its closest and biggest strategic partners,” PM Modi said, reports NDTV. “India-Saudi Arabia partnership crucial for stability, welfare of region and world,” PM Modi said.
The Crown Prince is currently on a state-visit to India. This is Prince Salman’s second State visit to India.
He had arrived on September 9 to attend the G20 Summit and will be departing for Riyadh on Monday.
India and Saudi Arabia have historically close and friendly relations with extensive people-to-people contacts.
The trade between both countries reached all time high of $52.75 billion in 2022-23.
India is Saudi Arabia’s second largest trading partner whereas Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner.
Both countries also have a strong partnership in the area of energy. — IANS (Media inputs added)
