India-Saudi ties promise shared growth, security, and stability, says Jaishankar
Stressing the importance of strategic economic ties between India and Saudi Arabia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said the cooperation holds “the promise of shared growth, prosperity, stability, security and development”.
Jaishankar, who arrived in Riyadh on Saturday, is on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia – his first as foreign minister.
He addressed diplomats at the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute of Diplomatic Studies in Riyadh on Sunday, where he “underlined the importance of India-Saudi strategic ties at a time when the world is at crossroads”.
“Our cooperation promises shared growth, prosperity, stability, security, and development,” he said in a tweet.
In an interaction with the Indian community on Saturday, Jaishankar lauded the ties between the two countries and said Saudi Arabia was “very helpful” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We saw that our international friendships also came to fruition at that time… Saudi Arabia was very helpful and provided an oxygen supply. It is two years since the country was tested for Covid, but we came through,” he Told.
Speaking about the current geopolitical situation, he said that the world is facing many challenges, such as rising food, oil, and shipping prices due to the Ukraine crisis. “But we are still very confident that India will be the fastest growing major economy in the world this year. We will achieve at least seven percent growth.”
He said that India’s economic recovery after Kovid is worth studying. Stating that many countries spent a lot of money during the COVID period, he said, “I would say, like kneeling… they were in a hurry to respond to the crisis situation. So they… don’t necessarily use their money and resources wisely.”
During his visit, Jaishankar co-chaired, along with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the first ministerial meeting of the Committee for Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC) set up under the India-Saudi framework. Was. Arab Strategic Partnership Council.
“Warm and productive meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister HH Prince @FaisalbinFarhan this afternoon. Co-chaired the Political, Security, Social and Cultural Committee of the India-Saudi Partnership Council,” he tweeted.
“Discussed current global political and economic concerns. The G20 and multilateral organizations agreed to work together,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest trading partner of India. Saudi Arabia accounts for more than 18 percent of India’s crude oil imports. During FY22 (April-December), bilateral trade was valued at $29.28 billion. During this period, India’s imports from Saudi Arabia amounted to $22.65 billion and exports to Saudi Arabia were $6.63 billion.
According to the Indian Embassy, the 2.2 million-strong Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia.
In Riyadh, Jaishankar also met Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf – the two leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Mechanism of Consultation between India and the six-nation regional bloc.
After the meeting, Jaishankar tweeted, “Exchanged views on the current regional and global situation and the relevance of India-GCC cooperation in that context.”
The GCC is a regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
India’s ties with the GCC suffered a setback in June this year after suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma made comments on the Prophet.
