KEY HIGHLIGHTS
On his two-day visit to India, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in Saudi jails on Prime Minister Modi’s request, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet on Wednesday, 20 February.
Kumar also said that the Crown Prince has declared the increase in quota for Indian Haj pilgrims to 2,00,000.
PM Modi and the Crown Prince issued a joint statement on Wednesday, 20 February in which the two leaders brought up the Pulwama terror attack saying that they have agreed that there is a need to put pressure on countries harbouring terrorism.
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to invest $100 billion in India
- Saudi Arabia’s MoS for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said that Riyadh will try to “de-escalate” tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack
- Saudi Arabia and Pakistan called for avoiding “politicisation” of the UN listing regime at a time when India is stepping up its efforts to brand JeM’s Masood Azhar as a global terrorist
Saudi Crown Prince's Visit to India: What's On the Table?
India is expected to forcefully raise the issue of Pakistan's support to terror groups during delegation-level talks between PM Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince on Wednesday, 20 February.
Official sources cited by PTI said the joint statement to be issued after talks between the two sides is likely to have a strong reference to terrorism and the ways to deal with it.
TS Tirumurti, secretary of economic affairs in the External Affairs Ministry, said the two countries are expected to sign five agreements in areas of investment, tourism, housing, and information and broadcasting during the Saudi leader's visit.
“We are confident that this visit will open a new chapter in India-Saudi bilateral relationship. India has been identified as one of the eight strategic partners with whom Saudi Arabia intends to deepen partnership in areas of political, security, trade and investment, and culture.”TS Tirumurti, as quoted by PTI
"As part of this engagement, we are finalising the setting up of 'Strategic Partnership Council' between the two countries at ministerial level. We are confident that this will give greater thrust to our strategic partnership and take forward our discussions in a focused and action-oriented manner," he said.
Modi will host a lunch in honour of the Crown Prince at Hyderabad House on Wednesday.
The Crown Prince will call on President Ram Nath Kovind and he will host a banquet for the visiting dignitary.
(With inputs from PTI.)
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Arrives in India
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman lands in New Delhi for a two-day visit. MoS MEA General VK Singh was present at the airport to receive him.
PM Modi Arrives Crown Prince at Delhi Airport
PM Narendra Modi also arrived at the airport to receive Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, as reported by ANI.
A New Chapter in Bilateral Relations: MEA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke the protocol and personally received the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Raveesh Kumar, MEA Spokesperson tweeted on Tuesday, “Breaking protocol, PM @narendramodi personally recieves HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as he arrives on his first bilateral visit to India!”
'India Delighted to Welcome Crown Prince'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 19 February, said that India is delighted to welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. He tweeted, “India is delighted to welcome HRH Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.”
Saudi Crown Prince Reaches Rashtrapati Bhavan, Meets Prez Kovind and PM Modi
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman reached Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday morning around 10 am. The crown prince was received with a ceremonial welcome in the presence of PM Modi and President Ramnath Kovind.
'Hope Relations Are Maintained for the Sake of Both Countries'
Moments after the ceremonial reception, the Saudi Crown Prince said that he hoped the relations are maintained for the sake of both countries – Saudi Arabia and India.
'Ties Between India & Arabian Peninsula in Our DNA': Crown Prince
After the ceremonial welcome, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the media:
“Today we want to be sure that this relation is maintained and improved for the sake of both countries. With the leadership of the President and the Prime Minister, I am sure we can create good things for Saudi Arabia and India.”
He also said that the ties between India and the Arabian Peninsula are “in our DNA".
Congress Slams PM Modi for Welcoming Saudi Crown Prince
The Congress on Wednesday slammed PM Modi for welcoming the Saudi crown prince, indicating that by doing so, the former has disrespected the martyrs and soldiers of India.
PM Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Witness Exchange of MoUs
PM Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman witnessed the exchange of MoUs between the two countries.
'Have Agreed That Pressure Needs to be Put on Countries Harbouring Terrorism': PM Modi
Issuing a joint statement with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, PM Modi on Wednesday brought up the Pulwama terror attack, saying that they have agreed that there is a need to put pressure on countries harbouring terrorism.
Modi also called Saudi Arabia among India's most important strategic partners.
“We held extensive and successful talks, vowed to take our economic ties to a new level... The time has come to transform our energy cooperation into strategic partnership.”PM Modi
The PM also welcomed Saudi Arabia for joining the International Solar Alliance and the country's investment in Indian infrastructure.
"We also discussed how to further strengthen our defence cooperation," he said.
'Extremism and Terrorism Are Our Common Concerns': Saudi Crown Prince
While issuing a joint statement with PM Modi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that extremism and terrorism are the common concerns of both the countries.
“We would like to tell our friend India that we’ll cooperate on all fronts, including by intelligence sharing. We’ll work with everyone to ensure a brighter future for our upcoming generations.”Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
The crown prince also reportedly said that Saudi Arabia will cooperate with our countries on the issue of terrorism.
We Are Positive About Our Investment in India: Aramco CEO
Saudi Aramco's Chief Executive Officer Amin Nassar said that company is seeking opportunities in India and that they are working with their Indian partners like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.
Speaking to news agency ANI, “We are very positive about our investment in India. With regard to Ratnagiri, the 1.2 million barrel refinery, we are very positive about the outcome.”
Nassar is a part of the entourage travelling with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
India, Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemn the Pulwama Attack: MEA
Addressing a press conference, TS Tirumurti, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs said that the two leaders of India and Saudi Arabia condemned the attack on the security forces in Pulwama in the strongest terms.
Saudi Crown Prince Announces Investment of $100 Bn in India
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged to invest $100 billion in India. The areas of investment will include energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Meets President Kovind
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Crown Prince Announces Release of 850 Indian Prisoners in Saudi Jails
MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet that Saudi Arabia Crown Prince has announced the release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in Saudi jails on Prime Minister Modi’s request.
Kumar also said that the Crown Prince has declared the increase in quota for Indian Haj pilgrims to 2,00,000.
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