New Delhi: External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 10-12 September 2022. This was the first visit to the Kingdom as External Affairs Minister of India.
During the visit, EAM was co-chaired 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 the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The two Ministers were undertaken a comprehensive review of the entire bilateral relationship and discussed the progress under the four Joint Working Groups of the PSSC Committee, namely i) Political & Consular; ii) Legal & Security; iii) Social & Cultural and iv) Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation. The meetings of these Groups and Senior Officials (at Secretary level) have been held over the past few months. Both sides was also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest including their cooperation at the UN, G20 and GCC.
During the visit, EAM also met other Saudi dignitaries as well as Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), H.E. Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf. Both sides reviewed the bilateral relations and discuss ways to enhance them. EAM also interactd 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 pandemic.