India and Saudi Arabia will discuss details of the planned bilateral Strategic Partnership Council during the October 28-29 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Gulf monarchy. Announcing the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs said India would launch RuPay card in Saudi Arabia as this would help Haj pilgrims.
“India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council will meet every two years,” said Secretary of Economic Relations of the Ministry of External Affairs T.S. Tirumurti, explaining that the council would have representations from the Ministry of External Affairs, NITI Aayog and other wings of the government. The Strategic Partnership Council was discussed during Saudi Crown Prince’s February visit to Delhi and has been under development for some time.
Investment summit
Mr. Modi will attend the Future Investment Summit in Riyadh on October 29. In recent years, the summit has emerged as a major event in the Gulf region which draws large number of global figures and investors.
Mr. Tirumurti mentioned that Saudi Arabia is the third country in the Gulf region to get the RuPay card facility after the UAE and Bahrain. He acknowledged the Saudi “consideration” as India ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The senior official said the Saudi position on Kashmir had a “salutary effect on Pakistan.”
He said both sides were expected to discuss terrorism and ways to enhance defence cooperation. He mentioned that India is currently training Saudi defence personnel and Saudi cadet officers are being trained in Pune. Twenty-six Saudi officers are attending a course on security issues in Gujarat Forensic Sciences University.
