New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will pay a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia starting Saturday, his first trip to the Kingdom as India’s External Affairs Minister.
“External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, will pay an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 10-12 September 2022. This will be his first visit to the Kingdom as External Affairs Minister of India,” MEA said in a statement. During the visit, the external affairs minister will co-chair the inaugural Ministerial Meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC), established under the framework of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
“The two Ministers will undertake a comprehensive review of the entire bilateral relationship and will discuss the progress under the four Joint Working Groups of the PSSC Committee, namely Political & Consular; Legal and Security; Social and Cultural and Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation,” the MEA said.
The meetings of these Groups and Senior Officials (at the Secretary level) have been held over the past few months, the release added.
“Both sides will also discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest including their cooperation at the United Nations, Group of Twenty (G20) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),” the MEA said.
During the visit, Jaishankar will also meet other Saudi dignitaries as well as the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Dr Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf.
Both sides will review the bilateral relations and discuss ways to enhance them. The minister will also interact with the Indian community in Saudi Arabia.
India-Saudi Arabia relations have strengthened considerably over the past few years including in political, security, energy, trade, investment, health, food security, cultural and defence fields.
The top leadership of both countries remained in close touch even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
