Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Mohammed Bin Salman India visit: MBS is visiting India at a time when India is trying to corner Pakistan on the issue of terrorism at the global level.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday said his country would share intelligence with India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of terrorism in a joint statement. "Extremism and terrorism are our common concerns. We would like to tell our friend India that we'll cooperate on all fronts, be it intelligence sharing. We'll work with everyone to ensure a brighter future for our upcoming generations," the Crown Prince said. Mohammed bin Salman's visit to India has been shadowed by the Pulwama terror attack that forced him to return to his home country, instead of directly coming to India from Pakistan. India has blamed the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad for the attack in Pulwama that killed 40 Indian soldiers. In the joint statement, PM Modi, without naming Pakistan, said India and Saudi Arabia had agreed there was a need to increase pressure on the countries which support terrorism. The Prime Minister started the joint statement acknowledging the strategic nature of the ties with Saudi Arabia and welcomed the Saudi investment in the country. "India Saudi Arabia is one of India's most valuable strategic partners. Our relations have grown stronger. I welcome Saudi investment in Indian infrastructure," he said. Catch all the latest updates on BusinessToday.In's live blogon Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Extremism and terrorism are our common concerns.We would like to tell our friend India that we'll cooperate on all fronts, be it intelligence sharing. We'll work with everyone to ensure a brighter future for our upcoming generations," says the crown prince, reported ANI. The Saudi Crown Prince says Saudi has invested $44 billion in India; says "Saudi people have invested heavily in India's IT industry". "We welcome Saudi Arabia joining the International Solar Alliance," says PM Modi.
PM Modi on Pulwama attack: "Pulwama attack is a sign of the terror on the world. There is a need to increase pressure of nations supporting terror. Terror infrastructure has to be destroyed and culprits have to be brought justice. I'm happy that Saudi and we agree," says PM Modi.
PM Modi welcomes Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, says India is delighted
The Crown Prince arrived in Delhi on a less than 30-hour visit, a day after concluding his high-profile tour of
Pakistan where he said dialogue was the only way to resolve "outstanding issues" between India and Pakistan. ● According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Crown Prince will leave New Delhi around 11:50 pm on Wednesday
● His visit comes in the backdrop of the escalating tension between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack
● In a joint statement, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Monday called for avoiding "politicisation" of the UN listing regime
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday received at the airport in New Delhi Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, signifying importance India attaches to the visit by the leader of the powerful Gulf nation. The Crown Prince arrived in Delhi on a less than 30-hour visit, a day after concluding his high-profile tour of Pakistan where he said dialogue was the only way to resolve "outstanding issues" between India and Pakistan. In a tweet, Modi said India is "delighted to welcome" the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. After Salman's arrival, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "A new chapter in bilateral relations. Breaking protocol, PM @narendramodi personally recieves HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as he arrives on his first bilateral visit to India!" The Saudi leader had returned to Riyadh from Pakistan. He and Modi will hold extensive talks on Wednesday during which India is likely to strongly raise the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. According a warm welcome, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday not only received the Crown Prince at the airport in Islamabad but also drove him to PM house. During their talks on Wednesday, Modi and Salman are also expected to look at ways to enhancing defence ties, including having a joint naval exercise, official sources said. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Crown Prince will leave New Delhi around 11:50 PM on Wednesday. His visit comes in the backdrop of the escalating tension between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack carried out by Pakistanbased Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group in which 40 CRPF were killed. In a joint statement, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Monday called for avoiding "politicisation" of the UN listing regime at a time when India was stepping up efforts to brand the JeM terror group's chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The joint statement said the Saudi Crown Prince stressed that dialogue is the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region to resolve "outstanding issues" between India and Pakistan. Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said in Islamabad Riyadh will try to "deescalate" tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama attack. Official sources said Saudi Arabia was no longer accepting Pakistan's narrative on Kashmir and cross border terrorism and that India will forcefully raise the issue of Pakistan's support to terror groups during delegation level talks between Modi and the Crown Prince. They said the joint statement to be issued after talks between the two sides is likely to have strong reference about terrorism and ways to deal with it. Official sources said there has been a "change" in the way Saudi Arabia looked at relations between India and Pakistan and that the powerful Gulf nation has a better understanding of the cross-border terrorism. The sources said the two sides are looking at joint exercise between the two navies besides significantly ramping up overall defence cooperation. India's bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia was USD 27.48 billion in 2017-18, making Saudi Arabia its fourth largest trading partner. Saudi Arabia is also a key pillar of India's energy security, being a source of 17 per cent or more of crude oil and 32 per cent of LPG requirements of India. Recently, Saudi ARAMCO in partnership with ADNOC of UAE has agreed to partner in Ratnagiri Refinery and PetroChemical project Ltd which is a joint venture of USD 44 billion. Indian partners are IOC, BPCL and HPCL. The Crown Prince is expected to travel to China from India.