Jaishankar Holds Bilateral Talks With Saudi Counterpart Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud today in the national capital.

The two leaders met at the Hyderabad House in Delhi. Following this, the two leaders started deliberations for the 2nd meeting of the Political, Security, Social and Cultural Committee of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.

Jaishankar shared the initial meeting between the two leaders on the social media platform, X. In his post, he welcomed Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan to New Delhi.

He said, "Look forward to fruitful discussions today".

Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, arrived in India on Tuesday night for his two-day visit.

The Strategic Partnership Council was established in 2019, following the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in October 2019.

The Committee reviewed the progress achieved by the four Joint Working Groups: Agriculture and Food Security; Energy; Technology and Information Technology; and Industry and Infrastructure.

They noted the deepening of the bilateral economic partnership between India and Saudi Arabia and deliberated on ways to enhance trade and investment.

India and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial and friendly relations reflecting the centuries old economic and socio-cultural ties.

Their diplomatic relations were established in 1947. The historic visit of King Abdullah to India in January 2006 was a watershed moment that resulted in the signing of the 'Delhi Declaration'. It was followed later by the 'Riyadh Declaration, in 2010, which elevated the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

The visit of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi to Riyadh in April 2016 captured the spirit of enhanced cooperation in the political, economic, security and defence realms. During the visit, King Salman conferred the Kingdom's highest civilian honor, the King Abdulaziz Sash, on the Hon'ble Prime Minister, indicating the importance Saudi Arabia attached to its relations with India.

The visit of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to India in February 2019 further took forward this momentum. During the visit, it was announced that the Kingdom would invest approximately USD100 billion in India and six MoUs/Agreements were signed in various fields, including investment, tourism, housing, exchange of audio-visual programmes, and an agreement was signed to pave way for Saudi Arabia to join the International Solar Alliance.