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EAM concludes visit to Saudi Arabia September 10-12, 2022

Posted on: September 12, 2022 | Back | Print

EAM concludes visit to Saudi Arabia

September 10-12, 2022

External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, concluded today his first official visit to Saudi Arabia. He had arrived in Riyadh on September 10, 2022. During the visit he called on Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman on September 11 evening in Jeddah. EAM handed over a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Crown Prince conveying greetings on the upcoming National Day of Saudi Arabia on September 23 and reiterating  invitation to Crown Prince to visit India at an early date. 

Earlier, on September 11 afternoon EAM met the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh and reviewed all aspects of India-Saudi Arabia bilateral relations and discussed  regional and global issues. The two Ministers co-chaired the inaugural meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC), under the framework of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council. 

Both Ministers assessed the progress in bilateral relations positively across all domains including political, trade, energy, investments, defence, security and culture. Several areas were identified for further enhancing bilateral cooperation such as food security, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, defence industry and  entertainment. The two Ministers endorsed the work of the four Joint Working Groups of the PSSC (Political and Consular; Defence; Legal and Security; and Social and Cultural)  well as the Senior Officials Meetings. They also discussed greater coordination between the two countries in multilateral organisations especially the G-20.

EAM met the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), H.E. Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf on September 10 and discussed India-GCC relations. EAM and GCC Secretary General also signed an MOU on Mechanism of Consultations between India and GCC. The MOU provides for institutionalization of annual dialogue between India and the GCC and setting up Working Groups on different areas of cooperation.

During the visit EAM also interacted with the Indian community in Saudi Arabia at an event organized at the Indian Embassy on September 10. Further, EAM also addressed senior Saudi officials, academics and future Saudi diplomats in an interactive session at the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute of Diplomatic Studies on September 11.

Riyadh

September 12, 2022