PM Modi and the Crown Prince will co-chair the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, established during the prime minister’s 2019 visit to strengthen bilateral ties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. He was welcomed by a 21 gun salute. Notably, PM Modi is visiting Saudi Arabia from April 22 to 23 at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
PM Modi and the Crown Prince will co-chair the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, established during the prime minister’s 2019 visit to strengthen bilateral ties.
Since 2014, PM Modi has transformed the trajectory of India’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries. Interestingly, this will be PM Modi’s third visit to the country, following earlier visits in 2016 and 2019.
All other Prime Ministers before him together visited Saudi Arabia three times in seven decades and this also marks his 15th visit to a country in the Gulf region.
As a special gesture, PM Modi’s aircraft was escorted by F15’s of the Royal Saudi Air Force in Saudi Arabia’s airspace in Jeddah.
“Today, I embark on a two-day State visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” PM Modi said in a pre-departure statement.
India deeply values its long and historic ties with Saudi Arabia, which have acquired strategic depth and momentum in recent years. Together, we have developed a mutually beneficial and substantive partnership in the domains of defence, trade, investment, energy and people-to-people ties. We have shared interest and commitment to promote regional peace, prosperity, security and stability,” he added.
