Ajit Doval, Saudi FM review bilateral ties, discuss regional developments

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in a post on X, said, "During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two friendly countries. They also discussed the latest regional developments and the efforts to enhance energy security and protect maritime corridors.

https://x.com/KSAmofaEN/status/2079265603236364707?s=20

The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Ambassador Dr. Saud Al-Sati.

In April, India's National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh where he held high-level meetings with senior Saudi leadership focusing on bilateral relations, energy cooperation and regional developments.

In December last year, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Suhel Ajaz Khan and Abdulmajeed bin Rashed Alsmari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, signed the bilateral Visa Waiver Agreement.

The move aimed to facilitate the movement under the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.

India and Saudi Arabia enjoy close friendly relations. The two countries have steady bilateral trade and investment cooperation.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has remained one of India's largest Crude and Petroleum products sourcing destinations, the Ministry of External Affairs had noted in an earlier statement.

Notably, both sides also have close cooperation in the domain of defence industries and capacity building.

As per the MEA, the Indian community in Saudi Arabia numbers at approximately 2.7 million and is a living bridge between the two countries. The Indian diaspora is widely respected in the Kingdom for their contributions in the development of Saudi Arabia. (ANI)