Following his participation in the 18th G20 Leaders’ summit, Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud received a ceremonial welcome on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday. At Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu welcomed the Saudi Crown Prince. The Guard of Honour for the combined defense services was then examined by Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated India on a successful G20 presidency in a brief statement.
“Well done India, a lot of announcements made that will benefit both our countries, the G20 countries and the whole world. So I want to say to India well done, and we will work to create a future for both countries” he said.
The Saudi Crown Prince flew into Delhi on Saturday for a three-day trip and has since remained for a state visit after the G20 Summit. Prince Mohammed bin Salman will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House following the ceremonial reception. Later in the day, at the same location, the Saudi Crown Prince is anticipated to certify the minutes of the inaugural meeting of the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council. India, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union made a historic agreement to start a massive shipping and rail connectivity corridor between India, the Middle East, and Europe on Saturday at the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
This is a historic and first-of-its-kind initiative on cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, EU, France, Italy, Germany and the US.
Speaking at the same forum, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, “… We look forward to the integration of the initiative and the Economic Corridor project which is announced in this meeting. I would like to thank those who worked with us to reach this founding step to establish this important economic corridor…”
PM Narendra Modi said the mega-deal would give a sustainable direction to connectivity and sustainability across the world.