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Both India and Saudi Arabia are keen on joint collaboration in defence manufacturing and the two sides are also exploring the possibility of taking joint exercise to other domains, said a Ministry of External Affairs official.
In response to a query put forward by ANI on India-Saudi defence cooperation, MEA Secretary (CPV and OIA) Ausaf Sayeed, said, I am happy to share with you that during this visit as many as eight agreements have been signed. Sayeed was addressing a special media briefing on the State visit of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Miniser of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. We have an ongoing defence cooperation which is going on very well. We already had two rounds of the joint naval exercises. We are now exploring the possibility of taking these joint exercises to other domains other than the naval, said the MEA Secretary. Other important aspect is the joint collaboration in terms of defence manufacturing. This is something which both sides are keen about, added Sayeed in response to the ANIs query. The Saudi side also has an inbuilt local manufacturing focus in their Vision 2030 and our companies have also shown interest in showing their capabilities, depending on the needs and capabilities matching the both sides, he elaborated. Recalling PM Modis visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2019, he said that an agreement was signed on defence cooperation in the manufacturing sector. We would expect more such exercises and more involvement of Saudis in bilateral and multilateral exercises, Sayeed said. During PM Modis visit to Riyadh on October 28-29, 2019, the Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) Agreement was signed, which established a high-level council to steer the Indo-Saudi relationship, Ministry of External Affairs said. Twelve MoUs/Agreements were also signed during the visit across several fields, including energy, security, defence production, civil aviation, medical products, strategic petroleum reserves, small and medium scale industries, and training of diplomats. The Saudi Crown Prince was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers and senior officials. The Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, who arrived here on a three-day State visit to India had attended the G20 Summit in the national capital over the weekend. PM Modi and the Saudi Crown Prince also co-chaired the first Leaders Meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council today. The agenda included a broad range of areas of bilateral cooperation, including energy security, trade and investment, defence and security, healthcare, food security, culture and community welfare issues among others, according to External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. Prior to his meeting with PM Modi, the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince received a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan and PM Modi and President Droupadi Murmu welcomed the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Saudi Crown Prince then inspected a combined defence services Guard of Honour. In a brief statement, Mohammed bin Salman congratulated India for a successful G20 presidency. (ANI)
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