Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to begin state visit in India after attending G20 Summit

Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), who attended the G20 Summit in India, will now be staying back in the country for a state visit. According to a statement by the Indian foreign ministry on Saturday (September 9), MBS will continue to stay in India till Monday for the state visit. "His Royal Highness earlier visited India on a State Visit in February 2019, and this will be his second State Visit to India. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ministers and senior officials," the statement added.

What's on the agenda?

On Monday, MBS will call on Indian President Droupadi Murmu, the Indian ministry statement said. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and both leaders will also co-chair the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council. This council was established following Prime Minister Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2019.

"They will review the progress made under the two Ministerial Committees of the Strategic Partnership Council i.e. the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation and the Committee on Economy and Investments Cooperation," the statement added.

During the bilateral meeting, MBS and Modi will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations including political, security, defence, trade, and economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties.

The foreign ministry statement also mentioned that trade between India and Saudi Arabia reached an all-time high of $52.75 billion in FY 2022-23.

During the G20 Summit in India's capital New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and others signed a pact building a major railway and port project to connect the Middle East with India and Europe.

On Saturday, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said that a memorandum of understanding would be inked to "explore a shipping and rail transportation (project) that will enable the flow of commerce, energy, and data from here in India across the Middle East to Europe."

Key participants in the project would also include the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, Finer added.

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