PM Modi to Visit S. Arabia for 2 Days from Tuesday

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia next Tuesday, during which the two nations are expected to strengthen ties in sectors such as defence, security, trade, investment, energy, technology, health, education, culture and people-to-people ties. The Prime Minister will travel to the Saudi port city of Jeddah, where he is expected to hold talks with the Saudi leadership.

At a special media briefing on Saturday, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that India is “gaining space as an important” defence stores supplier of munitions to Saudi Arabia and that an agreement was signed last year to the tune of $225 million. He also spoke about the defence industry cooperation and the military exercises between the armed forces of the two nations as a measure of the strong bilateral ties.

During the Prime Minister's visit, several pacts between the two nations are expected to be inked. The foreign secretary said that the PM and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman share a warm personal rapport marked by immense respect for each other.

The Prime Minister and the Saudi Crown Prince will co-chair the second meeting of the bilateral Strategic Partnership Council during the visit.

Mr Modi will also visit a factory where Indian workers are employed. The Indian community in Saudi Arabia stands at a whopping 2.7 million in number and is known for its immense contribution to that country.

The foreign secretary said Saudi Arabia is also undertaking a massive infrastructure development project as part of the “Saudi Vision 2030” and that Indian companies in Saudi Arabia have an opportunity to participate in these projects.

The two nations are also expected to discuss other aspects of their bilateral ties, such as energy cooperation. India has been an importer of Saudi oil and gas to meet its energy needs. Another aspect likely to be discussed will be the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) connectivity project, of which an important pillar will be the electricity grid interconnection between India and the Gulf region. The work on this is “expected to start imminently”.

Acknowledging that groundwork on the project by various nations could not begin immediately due to the West Asian (Israel-Hamas) conflict (in Gaza that began in 2023), Mr Misri pointed out that “infrastructure links have national relevance” and India can always engage other countries bilaterally on this.

A free trade pact is also being negotiated between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is a regional organisation comprising Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and this will also be discussed during the visit between the two leaders.

Bilateral trade and investment ties will also be strengthened, with India seeking more investments from the oil-rich Gulf nation and assuring the Saudi side of all possible assistance in Saudi investment projects in India.

The foreign secretary also indicated that major global and regional issues such as the West Asia conflict involving Israel in Gaza, the Ukraine-Russia war and peace initiatives to bring the war to an end, as well as the situation involving attacks on ships by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, will be discussed between the two sides.

Responding to a media query, Mr Misri ruled out any discussions between the two sides on India’s Waqf (Amendment) Act that was recently passed by the Parliament and pointed out that the Saudi side had made no comments on it, adding that he therefore saw no reason why it should be discussed.

The foreign secretary also lambasted Pakistan’s attempts to misuse the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) forum against India and added that New Delhi has always been pointing this out to other nations.

The foreign secretary also said that the welfare of the large Indian community, including workers living in Saudi Arabia and earning their livelihood, was a “top priority” for the Indian government and will figure in discussions between the two nations.

In a separate statement on the Prime Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia, New Delhi said, “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 the Saudi Crown Prince and the Saudi Prime Minister to New Delhi in September 2023 to attend the G-20 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 politics, defence, security, trade, investment, energy, technology, health, education, culture and people-to-people ties."

New Delhi added: "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. The visit of the Prime Minister 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."