New Delhi: India and Saudi Arabia yesterday sought to further deepen strategic diplomatic and business relations as the Gulf kingdom’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met India’s top leadership, including President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
During the meeting with the prime minister, the two leaders “discussed trade, investment, terrorism and security situation in West Asia and Afghanistan”.
“India has a special and warm relationship with Saudi Arabia which we accord high importance,” Manmohan Singh told the visiting leader.
Prince Salman, who is also deputy prime minister and defence minister of Saudi Arabia, is on a three-day official visit to India. This is Prince Salman’s first visit to New Delhi as crown price of the Gulf kingdom that supplies nearly one-fifth of oil needs of the Asia’s third largest economy.
The two countries on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation for greater exchange of information and training.
Meanwhile, Indian and Saudi companies signed four agreements to jointly promote and facilitate investments and trade.
The representatives of Indian and Saudi companies signed the memorandums of understanding at an India-Saudi Arabia Business Forum meeting here organised jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Council of Saudi Chambers.
Saudi Arabia Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfig Fawzan Alrabiah, who is a part of the delegation accompanying the crown prince, stressed the need to strengthen trade and investment ties. He said Saudi investors were concerned about capital gains and other taxation issues in India.
IANS
