Signifying the growing defence ties between India and Saudi Arabia, its Army Chief held extensive discussions with General M M Naravane here on Tuesday. This is the first ever visit by a Saudi Arabia Army chief to India. Naravane was the first Indian Army chief to visit that country in 2020 besides the United Arab Emirates(UAE).
Terming the current visit as “historic and landmark” the Defence Ministry said here Commander of the Royal Saudi Land Forces, Lieutenant General Fahd Bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair, arrived in India on Monday.
This is the first ever visit by a serving Royal Saudi Land Forces Commander to India and marks a deepening bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.
Naravane had visited Saudi Arabia in December 2020 in a historic visit which marked the first time that an Indian Army Chief had visited Saudi Arabia. The aim of the visit was to bolster bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.
Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair was received by Naravane here on Tuesday at South Block where he was accorded a Ceremonial Guard of Honour. The two chiefs later held significant bilateral discussions and security situation in the region.
The relationship between India and Saudi Arabia has grown owing to common interests in economic prosperity, eliminating the scourge of terrorism and mitigating the effects of climate change. Defence diplomacy forms one of the major tenets of the overall relationship.
Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair will depart for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Naravane’s visit in December 2020 was the first ever by an Indian army chief. He held wide ranging discussions with his Saudi counterparts and the two sides also explored ways to forge joint ventures in defence manufacturing sector in India.
More than ten million Indian expatriates are residing in these two countries.
Their annual remittances are pegged at more than 45billion dollars.
Moreover, his visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE came at a time when Pakistan’s relations with the Saudi Arabia and UAE were under pressure. Peeved over Islamabad’s criticism of Riyadh’s position on the Kashmir issue, Saudi Arabia had then sought the early repayment of a $3-billion loan provided to the Imran Khan Government in 2018.
Also, Naravane’s visit to the UAE came weeks after Israel established diplomatic ties with the UAE. With this, Israel now has diplomatic relations with Egypt, Jordan and the UAE in the sensitive Gulf region.
Naravane visited the Headquarters of Royal Saudi Land Force, the Joint Force Command Headquarters and King Abdulaziz Military Academy.
He also addressed students and faculty of the National Defence University.
In 2019, India and Saudi Arabia had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on defence industries collaboration and an agreement on security cooperation.
These high-profile visits by top government functionaries are part of India’s outreach to West Asia, seen by New Delhi as part of its extended neighbourhood.
This effort has bolstered defence and security cooperation, especially in fighting terrorism.