At the invitation of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, visited to India from September 9-11, 2023. During this visit, he was attended the G20 Summit being hosted in India on September 9-10, 2023 and continue his stay in India on September 11, 2023 for the State visit. His Royal Highness earlier visited India on a State Visit in February 2019, and this was his second State Visit to India. He was accompanied by a high level delegation, including Ministers and senior officials. This visit was followed the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to Saudi Arabia in October 2019 during which the two countries established the Strategic Partnership Council.
On September 11, 2023, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was called on the President. He was held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister and both leaders was co-chaird the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council. They reviewed 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. They discussed all aspects of bilateral relations including political, security, defence, trade and economic, cultural and people-to-people ties. Both the leaders was also discussed the regional and international issues of mutual interest.
India and Saudi Arabia have historically close and friendly relations with extensive people-to-people contacts. The trade between both countries reached all time high of USD 52.75 billion in FY 2022-23. India is Saudi Arabia’s second largest trading partner whereas Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner. Both countries also have a strong partnership in the area of energy. There is a vibrant Indian community of around 2.4 million in Saudi Arabia. Their contribution towards the development of the host country and role as bridges to deepen the multifaceted ties between the two countries is highly appreciated. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also facilitates Hajj pilgrimage of over 175,000 Indians every year.