India, Saudi Arabia to set up joint working groups on defence and security

NEW DELHI: India and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday held the first meeting of a bilateral committee on political, security, social and cultural cooperation and agreed to create joint working groups on issues ranging from defence and security to the Haj pilgrimage. The committee comes under the Indiasaudi Arabia agreement on a Strategic Partnership Council that was launched during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in October 2019. The inaugural senior officials’ meeting, which was held virtually, discussed and reviewed cooperation in various areas and existing mechanisms. “Both sides agreed to give impetus to the work of existing mechanisms and establish joint working groups for regular dialogue covering various fields such as political, consular, Haj, defence, security, culture, health and education,” the external affairs ministry said.