NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and PM of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during his state visit to Saudi Arabia and held official talks and co-chaired the second meeting of the India–Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC). 

The Crown Prince strongly condemned the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam and offered deepest condolences on the innocent lives lost. The two leaders resolved to combat terrorism tooth and nail.

They reviewed the progress under the Council since their last meeting in September 2023 in New Delhi. The leaders noted with appreciation the intensification in bilateral engagement and the large number of high-level visits across various Ministries that have built trust and mutual understanding on both sides. The two leaders discussed cooperation in the fields of energy, defence, trade, investment, technology, culture and people-to-people relations. PM thanked His Royal Highness for the support and welfare extended to the Indian community in Saudi Arabia. He also appreciated the support provided by the Saudi government for the Indian Haj pilgrims.

Both leaders appreciated the progress in the discussions in the High-Level Task Force on Investment. They welcomed the understanding reached by the Task Force in multiple areas, which builds on the earlier commitment of Saudi Arabia to invest USD 100 billion in India across multiple sectors including energy, petrochemicals, infrastructure, technology, fintech, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and health. In this context, they particularly welcomed the agreement to collaborate on establishing two oil refineries in India, as well as the progress achieved on taxation issues. PM proposed that to further strengthen economic ties both countries could work for connecting payment gateways and trade settlement in local currencies.

They discussed progress in India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor [IMEEC], particularly the bilateral connectivity initiatives being undertaken by the two sides. Both leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

They expressed satisfaction at the outcomes of the work of the two Ministerial Committees under the Council, namely: (a) the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation and its subcommittees, and (b) the Committee on Economy and Investments and its Joint Working Groups.

They welcomed the expansion of the Strategic Partnership Council with the establishment two new ministerial committees. In this context, to reflect the deepening of the defence partnership, the leaders agreed on the establishment of the Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation. Acknowledging the growing momentum in cultural cooperation between the two sides in recent years, they also agreed to establish a Ministerial Committee on Tourism and Culture Cooperation. After the meeting, the minutes of the second SPC were signed by the two leaders.