Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Attend G20, Continue State Visit after Summit: MEA – News18

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will attend the G20 Summit being hosted in India on September 9-10 and will continue his stay in India on September 11 for the State visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday.

“At the invitation of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will visit India from September 9-11, 2023,” the MEA said in a statement.

Mohammed bin Salman earlier visited India on a State Visit in February 2019, and this will be his second State Visit to India. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ministers and senior officials. This visit follows the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to Saudi Arabia in October 2019 during which the two countries established the Strategic Partnership Council.

On September 11, the Saudi Crown Prince will call on President Droupadi Murmu. He will hold a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister and both leaders will also co-chair the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council.

“They will review the progress made under the two Ministerial Committees of the Strategic Partnership Council i.e. the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation and the Committee on Economy and Investments Cooperation. They will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations including political, security, defence, trade and economic, cultural and people-to-people ties. Both the leaders will also discuss the regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the statement said.

India and Saudi Arabia have historically close and friendly relations with extensive people-to-people contacts, according to MEA. The trade between both countries reached an time high of USD 52.75 billion in FY 2022-23. India is Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner whereas Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth-largest trading partner. Both countries also have a strong partnership in the area of energy,

The MEA said that there is a vibrant Indian community of around 2.4 million in Saudi Arabia. Their contribution towards the development of the host country and role as bridges to deepen the multifaceted ties between the two countries is highly appreciated. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also facilitates Hajj pilgrimage of over 175,000 Indians every year.