Saudi-Indian relationship is ‘in our DNA,’ says crown prince
Prime Minister Modi, President Kovind host lunch, banquet in honor of MBS
with a friendly embrace.
However, the main official preoccupation of the crown prince only started on Wednesday with a ceremonial reception at the capital’s grand Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace).
Indian President Ramnath Kovind and Modi welcomed the Saudi prince outside the palace buildings (formerly the Viceroy of India’s house), where he inspected a guard of honor and told reporters: “The relationship between India and Saudi Arabia is in our DNA… it’s more than 2,000 years old and goes before history was written.”
Later, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with the crown prince on the strategic dimension of the relationship between the two countries. Following their discussions, Raveesh Kumar, spokesman for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted that the meeting had added “momentum” to collaboration in various fields including trade and investment, defense, security, and regional cooperation.
In the afternoon a meeting took place between Modi and the crown prince with the two leaders talking at length to each other before joining high-level delegations from both countries in more than an hour of discussions on a range of issues.
A lavish lunch was hosted by Modi, and according to some media reports vegetarian and nonvegetarian dishes were on the menu with a mixture of Kashmiri, Mughlai, Bengali and Punjabi cuisines.
The Saudi delegation included several top ministers and bureaucrats along with a large entourage of business leaders.
Portraits of the crown prince have been erected around the Indian capital, demonstrating the importance New Delhi attached to the visit.
In the evening Kovind organized a special banquet in honor of the visiting dignitaries to which several ministers from the Indian government, members of the diplomatic community, journalists and some opposition leaders were also invited.
The 30-hour trip to India by the crown prince certainly created a very positive buzz around the country.