India and Saudi Arabia ink over dozen agreements including defence sector
Shares
NEW DELHI - India and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday inked more than a dozen agreements in several key sectors including oil and gas, defense and civil aviation to bolster their ties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with the Kingdom's top leadership during which a Strategic Partnership Council was established to coordinate on important issues.
Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the Gulf Kingdom to attend the Future Investment Initiative here, called on Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the two leaders exchanged views on working together closely to strengthen the bilateral ties.
The two leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and agreed to step up bilateral security cooperation. Saudi Arabia, known to be a key ally of Pakistan, has pledged to extend all cooperation to effectively deal with the challenge, PTI has reported.
Later in the evening, Prime Minister Modi held wide-ranging talks with powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. After the delegation-level talks, the two sides signed an agreement to establish the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council to coordinate decisions regarding strategically important issues.
The council will be headed by Prime Minister Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed and it will meet at an interval of two years. Briefing the media following the meeting and luncheon hosted by King Salman for Prime Minister Modi, Economic Relations Secretary T S Tirumurti said that the two leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and agreed to step up bilateral security cooperation.
