PM Modi begins Saudi Arabia visit, receives rousing welcome in Jeddah

Jeddah, April 22 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome at the Jeddah airport on Tuesday afternoon as he began a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his third to the Kingdom after his previous visits in 2016 and 2019, at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

As a special gesture for the State Visit of PM Modi, his aircraft was escorted by the Royal Saudi Air Force as it entered the Saudi airspace.

The April 22-23 visit follows the State Visit of Prince Mohammed bin Salman to New Delhi in September 2023 to attend the G20 Summit and co-chair the first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.

In his departure statement issued earlier in the day, PM Modi emphasised that India deeply values its long and historic ties with Saudi Arabia that have acquired strategic depth and momentum in recent years.

"Together, we have developed a mutually beneficial and substantive partnership including in the domains of defence, trade, investment, energy and people to people ties. We have shared interest and commitment to promote regional peace, prosperity, security and stability," he stated.

This will be Prime Minister Modi's first visit to the historic city of Jeddah where the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) will also take place. The SPC was established during Prime Minister Modi's last State visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2019 to steer the bilateral relationship forward.

In the evening, India time, Prime Minister Modi will interact with members of the Indian community, highlighting once again the importance he attaches to the welfare of Indians abroad.

"I am also eager to connect with the vibrant Indian community in Saudi Arabia that continues to serve as the living bridge between our nations and making immense contribution to strengthening the cultural and human ties," PM Modi stated in his departure statement.

The Indian community in Saudi Arabia is 2.7 million strong and acts as a living bridge between the two countries. Indian diaspora contribution to the economic development of Saudi Arabia is widely recognised. Number of Indians in Saudi Arabia is increasing steadily. Over the last year, an estimated one lakh Indians came to Saudi Arabia for employment.

India-Saudi Arabia partnership has received a major boost over the last decade, especially after PM Modi's landmark visit to Riyadh in April 2016 that led to an enhanced and comprehensive cooperation in the political, economic, security and defence realms. During the visit, King Salman conferred the Kingdom's highest civilian honour, the 'King Abdulaziz Sash', on PM Modi.

The SPC established in 2019 has two pillars - the Political-Security-Socio-Cultural (PSSC) and Economic and Investment. While the External Affairs Minister and the Saudi Foreign Minister co-chair the PSSC, the economic pillar is co-chaired by India's Commerce and Industry Minister and the Energy Minister on the Saudi side.

There are also eight Joint Working Groups (JWGs) and sub-committees under the two pillars which conduct regular official level meetings.

The first Summit of the SPC was held in New Delhi in September 2023 and was co-chaired by PM Modi and visiting Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Beginning 2024, there have been 11 ministerial-level visits between both nations. The Saudi Foreign Minister and Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visited India in November 2024 and February 2025, respectively.

Riyadh is also the seat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and India and the GCC Secretariat have maintained good relations and regular dialogues at official level. In September 2024, EAM S. Jaishankar visited Riyadh to co-chair the first India-GCC Ministerial Meeting.

On the economic front, Saudi Arabia remains India's fifth largest trade partner while India is Saudi Arabia’s second largest trade partner. During the Financial Year 2023-24, India's imports from Saudi Arabia reached US $31.42 billion and exports to Saudi Arabia were worth US$ 11.56 billion.

Saudi Arabia also remained India's third largest Crude and Petroleum products sourcing destination for Financial Year (FY) 2023-24. India imported 33.35 MMT of crude oil in FY 2023-24 from Saudi Arabia, accounting for 14.3 per cent of India's total crude oil imports. In FY 2023-24, Saudi Arabia was the third largest LPG sourcing destination for India, accounting for 18.2 per cent of the total LPG imports of India for 2023-24. Saudi Arabia is also one of India's major suppliers of fertilizers, particularly it is the second largest source of DAP for India.

The annual Haj pilgrimage and Umrah is another important component of India-Saudi bilateral relations. India's Haj quota stands at 175,025 pilgrims.

--IANS

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