Union Minister Jaishankar to visit Saudi on Saturday

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia for two days on Saturday. This would be his first visit to the country in that capacity.

“External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 10–12 September 2022. This will be his first visit to the Kingdom as External Affairs Minister of India,” MEA said in a statement.

The external affairs minister and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, will co-chair the inaugural ministerial meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social, and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC), established within the framework of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, during the visit.

“Both sides will also discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest, including their cooperation at the United Nations, Group of Twenty (G20) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),” the MEA said.

Jaishankar will also meet with senior Saudi leaders, including Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), during the visit.

Both parties will evaluate their bilateral relationships and talk about how to improve them. The minister will also communicate with Saudi Arabia’s Indian population.

Over the past few years, relations between India and Saudi Arabia have improved significantly in a variety of areas, including politics, security, energy, trade, investment, health, food security, culture, and defence.

Even throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the senior leaders of both nations maintained close communication.