Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to visit Saudi Arabia to review bilateral relationship

In a three-day visit, Dr S Jaishankar and the Saudi Arabia foreign minister will review the bilateral relationship and discuss the progress of PSSC Committee

Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar will be paying an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from September 10-12 to discuss the entire bilateral relationship between India and Saudi Arabia and also to co-chair the inaugural Ministerial meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officially announced on Friday. 

External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, will pay an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 10-12 September. This will be his first visit to the Kingdom as External Affairs Minister of India, MEA said in a statement.

External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, will pay an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 10-12 September. This will be his first visit to the Kingdom as External Affairs Minister of India: MEA pic.twitter.com/D1XiTJwuRc — ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2022

The meeting will be established under the framework of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The ministers will review the entire bilateral relationship and discuss the progress under the four Joint Working Groups of the PSSC Committee- Political & Consular, Legal & Security, Social & Cultural, and Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation.

In his first visit to the Kingdom as the Minister of External Affairs of India, S Jaishankar will be interacting with the Indian community of Saudi Arabia and understanding their livelihood in the country.

It is also mentioned that he will meet other Saudi dignitaries as well as the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), H.E. Dr Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf. Both sides will review the bilateral relations and discuss ways to enhance them. 

Over the past few years, India and Saudi Arabia have considerably strengthened their ties in several aspects including in political, security, energy, trade, investment, health, food security, cultural and defence fields. The top leadership of both countries remained in close touch even during the Covid pandemic.