Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to visit India on Feb 19
New Delhi, Feb 12 (IBNS): At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is paying his first State visit to India on Feb 19-20, 2019, officials said.
He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ministers, senior officials and leading Saudi businessmen.
"During the forthcoming visit, HRH the Crown Prince of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will call on Hon’ble President and Hon’ble Vice President, and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on wide range of issues of mutual interest," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The visit follows the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia in April 2016, during which the two countries agreed to further elevate existing strategic partnership.
India and Saudi Arabia have historically enjoyed close and friendly relations anchored in mutually beneficial partnership and extensive people to people contacts.
In recent years, there has been significant progress in bilateral cooperation in key areas of mutual interest, including energy security, trade & investment, infrastructure, defence and security.
Our bilateral trade was US$ 27.48 billion during the last financial year 2017-18, making Saudi Arabia our 4th largest trading partner (Bilateral trade during April – November 2018 reached USD 23.24 billion).
Saudi Arabia contributes significantly to our energy security needs by supplying about 20% of crude requirements to India. Recently, Saudi ARAMCO in partnership with ADNOC of UAE has entered into a Joint Venture for US$ 44 billion worth Ratnagiri Refinery and Petro-Chemical project Ltd.
About 2.7 million strong and vibrant Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in Saudi Arabia.
Their positive and highly-appreciated contribution to the development of their host country has been an important anchor of our excellent bilateral engagement. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also facilitates Hajj pilgrimage to over 1,75,000 Indians every year.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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