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India, Saudi Arabia Hold Inaugural Meeting Of Strategic Partnership Council

15:48, 11 September 2023
© Twitter/@narendramodi
Dhairya Maheshwari
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is on a three-day state visit to India. He attended the G20 Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September and held a meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
Sputnik
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince - who is also Prime Minister - Mohammed bin Salman, held the inaugural meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council at New Delhi’s Hyderabad House on Monday, the Indian External Affairs Ministry (EAM) said.

Arindam Bagchi, the Indian foreign ministry spokesman, described the development as a “new chapter” in ties between New Delhi and Riyadh. He has said that the agenda of the meeting included cooperation in areas such as energy security, trade, defence and security, healthcare, food security and community welfare among others.

Formed in 2019 during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Riyadh, the council comprises two committees - one for political-security-social and cultural cooperation and the other on economy and investment.

Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Modi emphasised that the council has emerged as “an effective means to further strengthen our strategic partnership ... We are adding new and modern dimensions to our relationships according to the needs of changing times.” He added that Riyadh is one of New Delhi’s most “important” strategic partners.

The Indian leader underlined that cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia remained “critical to the peace and stability of the entire region”.
The Indian Prime Minister also noted in his address that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) launched on the sidelines of the G20 Summit would “strengthen economic cooperation, energy development and digital connectivity between Asia, West Asia and Europe”.
A memorandum of understanding about IMEC was signed by India, the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, European Union, Italy, France and Germany, according to an official announcement.

No Disagreement in India-Saudi Arabia Relationship, Crown Prince Says

During his opening remarks at the meeting, Crown Prince Salman made clear that the India-Saudi Arabia ties historically haven’t had any “disagreements”.

“Today, we are working on future opportunities ... We are working through this council to reach these accomplishments, and these are promising," stated Salman.

He also said that Riyadh was working towards the "welfare" of the Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia, which comprise around seven percent of the Gulf monarchy's population.
The Crown Prince also congratulated Prime Minister Modi for the successful management of the recently concluded G20 Summit.
He said that the proposed economic corridor linking India, the Middle-East and Europe would require diligent work for it to be turned into a “reality”.
World NewsNarendra ModiArindam BagchiSaudi ArabiaNew DelhiIndiaEuropean Union (EU)regional connectivityG-20India G-20 Presidencyenergy securityfood securitydigital transformationdigitalizationhealth issuesdefense sector
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