A day after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a strategic defence pact, India on Thursday said it will take all steps to protect its national interests and ensure comprehensive national security in all domains. The agreement states, “Any aggression against either of the two countries shall be considered as an aggression against both.”
In a carefully-crafted response, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India will study the implications of the pact for its national security as well as for regional and global stability. “We have seen reports of the signing of a strategic mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan,” Jaiswal said. The sealing of the pact came over four months after a four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan.
“The Government was aware that this development, which formalises a long-standing arrangement between the two countries, had been under consideration,” he said. Jaiswal was responding to a media query on the issue.
The defence and security ties between India and Saudi Arabia have also been on an upswing in the last few years, particularly after the visit to the Gulf nation by then Army Chief Gen MM Naravane in December 2020. It was the first-ever visit to Saudi Arabia by a head of the Indian Army.
Pakistan has been a key ally of Saudi Arabia and both sides have a relationship in the defence sector.